Trouble at Goode
by marshawn Jackson
Summary: Percy and his crew are tired of letting Luke and his jocks run the school. They want to fight back. But what happens when both crews come together? Will peace transpire or will Goode High become a war zone. Percy is trying to make Goode a safe place for all students for even his crush Annabeth Chase. Credit to Cookie Creation for the cover picture.
1. Chapter 1

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 1**

 **PERCY POV**

All the fun and excitement of the summer was coming to a close. Starting next week it was going to be the beginning of hell. The first day of Goode High School. Now don't get me wrong, my friends attended Goode High School. But there were always bullies and a gang in specific that made it hell for the rest of the student population. They didn't specifically target me because I was on the swim team and played other sports within the school as well. All but one of my friends were not immune to the harsh treatment from these bullies. I didn't get involved when they were bullied because they liked to fight their own battles and they know I'd take it too far. I've gotten into multiple fights already and the bullies steer clear of me. They however don't get the message when it comes to my friends. Frank is a different case he's one of my closer friends but they stray away from him because he's basically a man inside high school. Frank is huge he does wrestling and plays for the varsity football team as a linebacker. Even I know to not get into problems with him.

The last week of summer went like a breeze. My friends and I enjoyed the last weekend before school started at the beach. By the time we came back it was nearing midnight. Everyone was tired and I was the first one to be dropped off. I picked my clothes for the first day of school. Since Goode High School had huge amounts of resources allocated to sports they decided to invest in their athletes. I decided for the first day of school to wear my varsity jacket with plain jeans and some plain athletic shoes. I know right typical jock.

"Hey honey what's the matter?" My mom Sally Jackson was at the doorway watching me.

I smiled. "It's nothing I just can't believe the summer went by so quick"

She gave me the sympathetic look "Tell you what. I'll cheer you up by making your favorite breakfast blue pancakes?"

I couldn't help it but I hugged my mom and nodded "Yes please."

"Alright get some rest you'll need it for the first day of classes. It's your junior year remember."

With that I went to bathroom washed my face brushed my teeth and then headed to bed. I twisted and turned. I couldn't seem to fall asleep. What I felt for the first day of school was dread and excitement. Dread because I didn't want to face the stress of school work, extra practices for sports, and definitely not seeing kids being bullied at school. I felt excitement to meet new people that can be potential friends, sports (practicing against each other is boring. Playing against another team is fun.), and having classes with my current friends. My friends and I decided to meet up by the front doors of Goode High School so we can enter together. That meant waiting for Frank, Hazel, my cousin Nico, Travis and Connor Stoll, Grover, his girlfriend Juniper, and my close friend Rachel.

It was already 4:00 A.M and I still couldn't fall asleep. Way to go Percy. Now I'm definitely not going to pay attention in class because I'm tired, ADHD, and my dyslexia. It was hard to learn with all those things but I managed. Slowly but surely I began to lose consciousness and I drifted into a deep and short slumber. Next thing I know my mom's yelling at me to wake up.

"PERCY! Wake up you're going to be late for the first day of school. Breakfast is on the table. I'm running later to work see you in the afternoon honey."

I seriously should drop out of school, I thought to myself. But I couldn't. My mom wanted me to go to university on an athlete scholarship then study something so money wouldn't have to be a worry. I loved for her that. I got up grudgingly and got into the shower. The cold water seemed to wake me up. I washed my face from the drool near my mouth and brushed my teeth. In no time I was eating and done with my favorite breakfast. I gave props to my mom she could cook, one more reason she was the best mother a guy could ask for.

I quickly cleaned up my mess and decided to head to school. Goode was only about a 15 minute walk but I decided to wait for the bus today. I wasn't in the mood to be walking considering I was tired. When the bus arrived it was already packed. Just my luck. I didn't want to sit towards the back because that's where the bullies and gang sat. So I looked for a seat in the middle of the bus. All seats were occupied by two people except one. A pretty cute curly blonde was sitting by herself so I decided to sit by her. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She was reading a novel then my eyes glazed over. When she looked at me I was taken aback, her eyes were gray. They were very intimidating but I held my gaze until she went back to reading. I could immediately tell she was the intelligent type, I wouldn't fancy her, a dumb jock.

I stared straight ahead for the minute bus drive home. When we arrived I saw all my friends at the front door no doubt waiting for me considering I was the last one of our group to arrive. Frank was the first one to notice me.

"Hey PERCY!" He came my way then gave me a massive bear hug. I'm surprised he didn't break any bones in my body. Frank looked scary on the outside but he was big softie on the inside. Don't tell anyone I told you that though. Franks attire was similar to mine. He wore his orange and purple varsity jacket with the letters "GH" stitched on his left side of his chest. Like my jacket, his last name Zhang was stitched at the back of his jacket as well. He wore cargo pants instead of jeans and wore boots. I greeted everyone else with a wave of my hand. Gave my close friend Rachel a hug and then we were in the school figuring out where our lockers were.

Every year as we progressed a grade they moved our lockers either up a floor or down a floor. Surprisingly the lockers for the juniors were in the same hall as the front entrance. My locker number was 86. Sadly none of my friend's locker were in my vicinity which meant I was by myself till first period. I was putting in all my notebooks, folders, binders, and pens inside my locker when I noticed the same blonde girl from the bus was beside me. At first I thought she was there for me which she wasn't. Her locker was beside mine. I've never seen her at school before which meant she either was a transfer student or a freshman. I went with transfer student. I decided not to be awkward and head to my first period class even though there was ten minutes left until the class began.

Before my friends and I decided to leave to find our lockers we forgot to compare schedules and see which classes we had together and which ones we didn't. Oh well guess I just have to wait and see. I sat down in the middle row and waited for class to begin. As soon as he entered my vibe was ruined. It was him, the bully and gang leader Luke Castellan. He had sandy hair, blue eyes, scar on his face, and he was tall. My blood boiled. Out of everyone who attended Goode he pissed me off the most. He also was a sports athlete and a popular jock. I'll use the word popular loosely, everyone knew him but It wasn't good popularity rather mostly everyone was afraid of him except me of course. He of course was with his goons, I mean friends. The most noteworthy was his right hand man Ethan Nakamura. He was Asian with black hair. He was slim but definitely no pushover. Like Luke he had that factor that made everyone afraid. While Luke had a scar, Ethan had an eyepatch. Why a junior in high school has an eyepatch no one knew and no one asked.

Him and his friends like me were wearing their Goode High varsity jacket. But to distinguish themselves from the other athletes who also wore varsity jackets his crew wore stitched patches on their jackets. Their gang name was the Backbiters. The word "Backbiters" was stitched on the back of their Goode High jackets. On top of the gang name was of course their emblem or symbol. Which was the scythe. Everyone who was in the classroom died out their conversation and stared at the Backbiters as they sat at the rear of the class. Luke acknowledged me and gave me a nod. A nod I didn't return but I guess he didn't really care or it was way too early in the school year to risk getting punished on the first day of school.

My first period class was Ancient history. In specific Greek and Roman mythology. I was always good at these things so it should've been an easy A. The classroom door opened and thank the heavens it was Frank. I waved him over to sit with me and he gladly obliged.

"Frank we forgot to exchange schedules with the group to see if we have any classes together." He physically face palmed his face.

"Shit we forgot. I guess the lockers were that important huh?" He took out his schedule but before I looked at it I teased him.

"You mean Hazel is that important, that you forgot to remind us about exchanging schedules?" He blushed uncontrollably.

"HAHAHA very funny Percy just look what classes we have together would ya?" I smirked and compared our schedules. The schedules were as follows

 **PERCY** **FRANK**

First Period: Ancient History First Period: Ancient History

Second Period: Math Second Period: English

Third Period: English Third Period: Math

Lunch Lunch

Fourth Period: Art Fourth Period: Music

Fifth Period: P.E. Fifth Period: P.E.

"Guess we only have two classes Frank. Ancient History and P.E." I was thinking to myself that it wasn't necessarily bad but I wanted Frank to be in majority of my classes. We always had a good time fooling around last year as sophomores.

Frank looked at me smiling. "That's great we all have P.E. together I just got a message in our group chat that they all have P.E. last period. We'll be the dream team" he said as he began to laugh.

As the last students trickled in the teacher locked his door. "Good morning class, my name is Mr. Brunner I will be your Ancient History teacher and this course will mostly cover Roman and Greek mythology. One thing must be clear, I will not tolerate tardiness in this class. Now everyone get your notebooks out and get ready to take notes."

The class was relatively fun. It was fun since I knew most of the content that was being taught. Class time went by so quick. When I heard the bell for class to end I looked at Frank. He to seem surprised that class ended so quickly. As I said my goodbye to Frank I headed to the water fountain to get a sip of water. Luke and Ethan were heading my direction. Great I have to fight on the first day.

"What's up Jackson?" I knew they were slowly sizing me up to see if they could take me on.

"Nothing much just trying to get through the day like everyone else." He smirked and nodded his head. They walked right past me. I was relieved I honestly doubted I could take two of the Backbiters. I had no doubt if it was one on one I would kick their asses. But fighting the Leader Luke and his right hand man Ethan was too much for anyone's plate. I was so lost in my thoughts that I failed to realize that my next class had already begun. As I walked into class the teacher was in the middle of her introduction.

"My name is Mrs. Dodds-"She looked at me. From the look in her eyes I could already tell she hated my guts. Great my worst subject is math and when I need help my teacher will most likely turn me away because she hates me.

"You must be Mr. Jackson. Your tardiness exemplifies your character which most likely means you will continue to be late to my class and in the process do poorly on my exams." She shook her head as if I was a disappointment.

All the seats were taken except for one. There she was the blonde girl. She seemed attentive. I could tell she cared about her education and grades. I could tell she didn't deal with no nonsense bullshit. I decided to break the ice.

"We meet again" I said as I looked at her.

"Yes" She didn't even look at me. Okay maybe it was just a bad time. But I decided anyways just to ask for her name.

"So what's your name" She finally looked at me. She looked at me apathetically as if I wasn't much.

"My names Annabeth Chase" Annabeth look so sophisticated yet she was a girl with few words.

"Okay Annabeth nice to meet you, my name is Percy Jackson." Annabeth just nodded and paid attention to what was being taught. I decided that since math wasn't my strong suit I would just zone out. I did for a few minutes but someone brought me to reality.

"You should really be paying attention. Mrs. Dodds doesn't play around. From the way she reacted to you coming late I can already tell she hates you. So pay attention!" Annabeth looked at me as she said this.

Of course this was the perfect moment for Mrs. Dodds to yell at me and expose me to the class.

"Mr. Jackson it seems that you are not only tardy but you also like to distract others. Out of my class now" I was in utter shock. What the fuck it's only the first day have mercy.

"What I didn't even do any-"She shook her head and pointed to the door.

I was angry I got out and slammed the door as hard as I could. Mrs. Dodds by far was the worst teacher at Goode. That was saying a lot considering I've only been to two periods of classes. I decided to wait out the remaining time of second period class in the bathroom. I texted in the group chat that I was kicked out of class. Everyone in the group chat just said we would talk about it during lunch.

It seemed like forever till the bell rang signifying the end of second period. I decided to run to my English class to avoid being yelled at in front of the class and also so this time I can choose my seat. The English classroom was at the end of the hallway which meant I had to pass through my second period math class. As I was walking by Annabeth grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey wait up. I wanted to say sorry. I kind of feel bad because it's kind of my fault for Mrs. Dodds kicking you out." I just shook my head.

"Don't worry about it. Happens all the time in all of my math classes I've had so far." She still looked like she felt guilty. In all honesty I didn't blame her but I couldn't change the way she felt apparently.

"Here's the notes that you missed from math class. It's the least I could do." I looked at the notes. I didn't understand what any of it meant and I didn't have time to copy them down into my notes.

"Here's my number Annabeth. Can you send them through text? I'm kind of running late to English class." I waved goodbye as I ran to my English class. I was not about to be embarrassed a second time today for being late. I got to my class a few minutes early and the classroom was fairly empty. Hazel, Frank's girlfriend was already setting at a middle desk so I decided to sit by her.

"Hey Hazel, how have classes been so far?" She looked at me then shrugged.

"They've been going alright I guess better than yours I imagine" She looked at me expectantly. She wanted me to elaborate on why I got kicked out of class.

"I'll explain later at lunch." With that we returned to silence as we waited for the English teacher to arrive. When he did arrive he wrote his name on the board. His name was Mr. Blofis. When I saw him at a close look, he seemed oddly familiar like I've seen him before. Like as if I should know him. I couldn't figure out who he was so I dropped it. He began talking about Shakespeare and I zoned out for the entire class.

Finally it was lunch I was starving. I waited for all my friends by the lunch doors before going in. As I was waited I noticed that Luke and his gang the Backbiters were picking on a lower classmen. I was fuming at this point I walked right up to the guy who was bullying the underclassmen.

"Pick on someone your own size" He looked at me then started to laugh. This must've been one of Luke's new recruits because I didn't recognize him. But apparently he knew me.

"You want some Jackson?" With that he threw the first punch. If it weren't for my friends who were just turning the corner for lunch no doubt the fight would've actually started. No doubt I would've gotten into trouble. For that I thank my friends. Frank got between us and Grover pulled me aside.

"You're lucky Jackson I was about to kick your ass" Before I could say anything both Frank and Grover dragged me into the lunchroom. Grover decided this was the time to talk to me to calm me down.

"Percy he isn't worth it. You're going to get into trouble you need to stop it. You do realize if we weren't there you would've gotten jumped because you were outnumbered like 10 to 1. Be smart next time please?" I nodded reluctantly. Grover did raise a fair point.

"Choose your battles wisely Perce." This time it was Frank who decided to talk. I just nodded and thanked him for saving my ass literally. Frank scared mostly everyone because he was so huge. No doubt if it was just Grover trying to break it up he would've gotten jumped as well. Now it's not to say Grover was a pushover he knew how to fight. He knew to fight pretty well actually. But his stature was the issue if a big guy held him down, he was done for.

We were all waiting to grab our lunch when I noticed Annabeth entered the lunchroom. It seemed she brought her own bagged lunch. She sat alone at the farthest table closest to the door. I kind of felt bad for her. Everyone knew each other since freshman year. She was just a transfer student so she was alone.

"Next" the lunch lady called which snapped me back to the present. I settled for the basic lunch a hamburger, fries, and some chips. We usually sat towards the middle of the lunchroom but I decided we should now sit the farthest back to the corner to avoid the Backbiters or else things could get ugly between me and them. As everyone sat down Rachel was the first one to pipe up.

"So tell us what you did to get kicked out" They all focused on me to answer the question.

"I did absolutely nothing" As I was explaining that Mrs. Dodds just hated my guts everyone did seem to agree she was a bitch.

"Well you didn't help your case by being late Percy." It was Juniper who was telling me that I should be there on time from now on to avoid unwanted attention from Mrs. Dodds.

"I recommend you to stay away from the Backbiters Percy." Nico spoke out of nowhere. Sometimes it scared me how easily he fit into the background and could be totally silent.

"Percy you can get seriously hurt. We got your back in fights but don't look for them. No one is brave enough to even stand up to them except us. But even then we're outnumbered heavily. He's started recruiting in the freshman class Percy. Be careful" Nico raised valid points. That what I loved not only from Nico but from all my friends they had my back. They would get into harm's way just to make sure I was okay. Yeah sometimes I didn't deserve them but I'm glad they're my friends.

"We should do something." I said.

"What do you propose we should do?" asked Grover.

"They're picking on underclassmen and those who don't fight back we should do something about it. It just pisses me off that no one does anything, except me. I guess that's why I'm enemy number one for them."

"Be careful what you ask for Percy. Here comes trouble" Nico was absolutely right. Right on queue the Backbiters were coming directly for us. Everyone silenced because they knew something was about to break out.

Luke spoke. "Alright Jackson you did say look for someone you own size didn't you?" It was Luke, Ethan, and the other three goons from earlier. He was mocking me. They already had their fighting stance ready.

Frank, Grover, and I got up. Hazel, Rachel, and Juniper were telling us to sit back down and not take the bait. From the corner of my eye I could see Annabeth eyeing me and my friends wondering what was going on. We got into our fighting stances ready to take on the 3v5. Everyone pulled their cellphones out no doubt ready to record. I noticed Annabeth was talking to a teacher. What was she doing?

I then noticed teachers were coming to the middle wondering what the commotion was. They immediately realized what was going on and escorted Frank, Grover, and I with the Backbiters to the principal's office.

Short story short Mr. D sent us home early. He wanted us to reflect on what we did and how it was wrong of us to fight. It fell onto deaf ears. Frank, Grover and I were fuming. We didn't give a shit what he said. The staff didn't realize that it was the Backbiters who instigated it. They were let off the hook while we were sent home.

We agreed to do something. We couldn't turn the other cheek any longer. Backbiters were ruining our school with drugs, bullying, and much more. We have to fight back!

I sent messages to all my friends to gather at the local park to discuss what we should do. Hopefully something good comes out of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 2**

 **ANNABETH POV**

As I was witnessing the commotion that was happening between Percy and another group of jocks it came to mind rather quickly that a fight was about to breakout. I asked to myself why? Don't all jocks get along together? Guess not. I quickly went to a teacher nearby and told them of the commotion that was happening between Percy and others. They hurriedly pushed through the crowd of students that no doubt were trying to record the fight that was about to happen. They escorted Percy and his pals with the other jocks to the principal's office. It was later announced that Percy and his friends were sent home over the intercom in our classes.

From the moment I saw Percy Jackson I could already tell he was a troublemaker. At first I thought he was going to be the stereotypical stupid and sex driven jock. I was wrong but that still didn't mean I wasn't careful with him whenever we did speak. I put on a façade that I was apathetic towards him. But in reality I was somewhat attracted to him. I liked his jet black hair, his sarcastic smile, how funny was, his muscled yet slender frame, and his face was just the definition of hot and attractive. But most of all I loved his deep sea green eyes. They were my favorite shade of green. But that didn't really matter because I don't need any more trouble in my life.

I was thinking this while I was in my Art class. I didn't choose my classes, the school did. I'm a transfer student from San Francisco and moved due to certain issues at my previous high school. However, Goode wasn't much different. There were still fights (Percy and friends.), hardcore drugs was a still an issue, nonstop bullying, and of course there always is a social hierarchy. At my previous high school I was not at the bottom but I wasn't exactly popular either. I decided it was time for a change I wanted tryout for cheerleading, gymnastics, and volleyball. One reason I wanted to try out for extracurricular activities is also to avoid my family as much as possible. I can only handle so much arguing.

"What's on your mind?" The girl who sat beside me broke me out of my thoughts. She had chocolate brown skin with curly brown hair to her shoulders. Her eyes were a combination of amber and gold colored. To sum it all up she was very pretty.

"Nothing. I was just wondering what I should draw." But unlike Percy I looked at her when I talked. I recognized her. She was one of Percy's friends.

"Why was Percy about to fight those popular jocks? Isn't he one himself?" I asked. She smiled. But her eyes showed a hint of sadness.

"Everyone assumes Percy and my boyfriend Frank are like all the other jocks that are assholes." She gave a humorless laugh. "Yes Percy and Frank are popular jocks but they're different. In specific, Percy and Luke have history. All he said was that Luke betrayed him but he never told us exactly how."

I wasn't much to like gossip but the curiosity got the best of me. "So they were going to fight over bad history? Why was your boyfriend involved if it's Percy's fight?

She smiled. "That's how Frank is, he always has his friends back. Same for Percy. Plus 5v1 isn't exactly fair." She did raise a good point. We've been having a conversation that we forgot to introduce ourselves.

"By the way my name is Annabeth Chase I'm a transfer student." She smiled and offered her hand. I accepted and shook her hand.

"Hi Annabeth nice to meet you. My name is Hazel Levesque" We both laughed because that's how our conversation should've started.

We decided to focus on our art work. I had no idea what I was drawing. So I kept at it. By the end of the class period the body of an owl was complete. I would have to complete the rest of it another day when I came back to art. I waved Hazel goodbye as I headed to the bathroom. Inside the bathroom there were I was guessing the cheerleaders. They had way too much makeup on. In all honesty they looked like clowns. I don't really wear makeup so I guess I couldn't relate with these girls on why I should wear some.

Since I was planning on trying out for the cheerleading squad I decided to ask them when they held it. I walked up to one of the cheerleading girls. She was very pretty. In summary she had choppy brown hair that was braided beautifully. I couldn't tell the color of her eyes it was if they changed color based on what color you liked best. At first they were brown, they then changed to blue, then to my favorite which was green. I could tell she was mixed maybe half white and half Native American? I hate to assume but that was my best guess.

"Hi I was interested in trying out for the cheerleading squad I was wondering when they held them?" She looked at me. She seemed different from the other cheerleaders. She was calm and collected. She didn't squeal like the other dumb cheerleaders.

"They're today right after school. I don't think you have to worry if you're going to make it or not. I'm Piper Mclean by the way. I'll see you at tryouts, I'm kind of in a hurry." With that she winked and left the bathroom. I quickly headed to the gymnasium for P.E. I dreaded P.E I loved doing sports and all but most of the jocks were in my P.E class which meant it was not going to be fun. Most of the jocks were probably ball hogs and liked to start fights if they lost. Thankfully the P.E teacher Coach Hedge gave everyone free time since it was after all, the first day of school.

I really wasn't in the mood to do anything physical today so I decided to sit on the gym bleachers and wait it out till the end of the period. As I was sitting I took around my surroundings. Goode's gymnasium was huge. I heard they get a lot of donations from very rich corporate partners. Not that it mattered. Everyone was doing their own thing but mostly everyone was gossiping or talking to each other.

"Hey beautiful what are you doing here all by yourself?" As I turned out around to see who it was. I realized it was the leader of the group that was trying to fight Percy. I deduced his name was Luke, the one Hazel was talking about. I decided to ignore him. I could already tell what type of individual he was. Troublemaker, sex driven, cocky, and no doubt a womanizer like most guys at this school.

He kept trying to talk to me but I continued ignoring him. He was getting unbearable he tried to touch me but I shoved his filthy hands off me every time he attempted to. After constantly shoving him away I couldn't bear it any longer I was about to get up and walk away but he grabbed my waist.

"Where do you think you're going missy?" He pulled me towards him and I slapped him as hard as I could. How dare he try to something without my permission? I guess he wasn't used to getting slapped or denied by females because his face was full of shock.

"Stay the fuck away from me you fuck boy!" I realized I had yelled at him as my voice echoed around the gym. Everyone began to look at our direction. Suddenly the gym was quiet and all the attention was on us. People began creeping a little closer to see what the situation was. But before it could escalate. Hazel and some of her friends pulled me out of the situation.

From behind I could hear Luke's voice. "You made a big mistake. You'll regret it. I'm going to make you suffer!" Everyone dispersed when coach Hedge entered the gymnasium wondering what all the shouting was. He began yelling and told everyone to change in the locker rooms. Hazel and I quickly went to the girl's locker room. Hazel and her friends asked me what happened. As I recounted what happened with Luke trying to hit on me and proceeded to try to touch me, they all shook their heads as if this was common around the school.

"Good for you Annabeth. You stood up to that creep. Many of the girls just let him do it because they're scared of him." I felt good, but at the same time I was afraid. Now I had a target on my back because I didn't let him have what he wanted. I was afraid he would come after me when no one was around, which in all honesty makes me an easier target because I don't have a lot of friends.

"Don't worry Annabeth we're here for you. We won't let Luke do anything to you. I imagine Percy won't either. He hates him. Especially when he tries to molest females." I felt a little better but Percy didn't know me. Why would he try to protect me?

Hazel's friends introduced themselves as Juniper and Rachel. As I introduced myself to them Piper the girl I met in the bathroom came into the locker rooms.

"Hey you ready for cheerleading tryouts? It's going to be in the gymnasium I wouldn't change because they're happening as soon as last period P.E clears out. She waved at Hazel and friends and they waved back. They seemed to recognize each other but I guess they weren't close friends. Piper left to go stretch while I sat in the locker rooms trying to forget what happened today. Hazel, Rachel, and Juniper had finished changing but before leaving they gave me their phone numbers so I could text them if I needed anything.

"You should come to Percy's meeting today. It's at the local park. It's about fighting back against Luke. You should go considering…since you know what happened today. The meeting is around 7:00P.M." It was Juniper who recommended me to go. It was odd because she was the most quiet from the trio. I nodded and told them I would try to go. They seemed satisfied with my response and left to go home.

I sat in the locker room for a few more minutes. I composed myself. Pushed what had happened in P.E aside and went out to the gymnasium. There were a lot of girls trying out for the cheerleading squad but only a select few are going to be chosen. From the distance I could see a girl who I assumed was the cheerleading captain. From the way she screamed at the girls trying out, I could tell she was a bitch.

"You guys suck, you're doing everything wrong. Why are you even at this school? You have no talent!"

"Drew calm down they don't know the moves yet they're trying." It was Piper who was trying to calm Drew down. But by the way Piper eyed Drew she hated Drew with a passion.

"Shut up Piper I'm the captain you're not so stay out. Unless you want to be kicked of the cheerleading squad?" Piper reluctantly stayed quiet. But I could tell she was pissed.

"Now, now Drew you seriously need to calm down." It was a girl who was coming from the hallway entrances. She looked like a model. She was insanely beautiful, she had black hair and blue eyes. Her body was perfect. Slim waist and was curvy like no other. Her face spotless which radiated beauty, she didn't need any makeup. Tt was all natural beauty. I was kind of jealous. If she wasn't wearing her Cheerleading uniform I would've mistaken her for a model.

"You're not captain yet Drew. I'm still captain I haven't graduated yet." She gave Drew a mocking smirk.

"I know, I know Silena you don't have to remind me" Drew rolled her eyes and got of the way. This chick Drew loved power she wanted power. What a loser I thought to myself. She realized I was glaring at her and gave me a sinister smile.

"Alright girls show me what you've got!" Silena showcased the moves we had to perform. I think I did relatively well which in all fairness should be rated as great because most of the girls had absolutely no coordination or flexibility.

As Silena was announcing the names of the girls who made the cheerleading squad a lot of groans and squealing was happening. Groans from those who didn't make it and squealing from the girls who did.

"Annabeth Chase, Congrats you've made the squad. Welcome to the Goode High School Cheerleading squad." I smiled so wide that my cheeks hurt. They gave me the gear for the cheerleading squad. I got a varsity jacket similar to the guys except of course smaller size and the girl's jacket had a hoodie embedded which the guy's jacket didn't have. I got the Goode cheerleading uniform. Some apparel, some Goode shorts, sweatpants, T shirts, long sleeves, sweatshirts, and lastly the Good High duffel bag. I loved the bag out of everything.

"Hey Annabeth we're going to this Café nearby do you want to come?" Piper looked at me with defiance as if daring me to say no. I nodded and decided to go with them. But I told them before we left if I could change from my gym clothes into the Goode High apparel. They smiled and agreed to let me change. I decided to change into the Goode long sleeve and shorts. Since it was the beginning of fall it wasn't exactly cold yet and it wasn't hot. It was just the right temperature to wear long sleeves and shorts.

When I came out Silena and Piper where whistling and cat calling me. All I did was laugh and told them I was ready to go to the Café. Silena and Piper told Drew to take a hike and lied to her telling her we were going to a boring place. We went through the front doors of the school and headed to the parking lot. Silena was the one driving and of course Piper called shotgun. We put our bags in the trunk of her Jeep. As we got in I couldn't help but notice how Piper and Silena talked to each other, with such ease almost like they were sisters. We talked about our first day of school during the drive. Which teacher we hated, the daily gossip, and boys… I was silent for majority of the talk about which boys they thought were cute, who was the best athlete, which guy and girl would be a good couple etc. It wasn't until Silena talked that I decided to perk up.

"We're here, alright let's get some coffee. I'm not really hungry. How about you girls?" Silena asked us. Piper and I shook our heads. I wasn't really hungry but I was in the mood for some coffee. I needed the caffeine, I didn't show it physically but mentally I was drained. As we ordered our coffee I was about to pay when Silena shook her head and gave the cashier her card. Wow Silena was really nice. I thanked her and she smiled. They of course were still talking about which guys they thought were attractive. As I checked my phone it was already nearing 6:30 P.M. I was debating whether to attend Percy's "war gathering". Before I could say anything Silena interrupted me.

"Shit it's almost 7:00 P.M we better hurry and drink our coffee I don't want to be late for Percy's meeting." Piper nodded and began to drink her coffee as quickly as she could even though it was probably still hot.

"Wait you guys know Percy?" I asked. They started laughing at me. Did I say something funny? Or do I have something on my face?

"Duh. Everyone knows Percy he's a popular jock. He's a good athlete, he's extremely attractive, has a nice smile, he's cool, and he's nice unlike most jocks" Silena said. Silena spoke very highly of Percy. In all honesty with my encounters with him or brief conversations he has been pretty nice and he's like the only guy who hasn't hit on me yet.

"You guys sound like you know him like he's been you friend for years. How come none of you guys are dating him if he's one of the few nice guys around Goode?" Piper and Silena once again smiled at each other like if they were once again connecting on inside joke I wasn't aware of. Silena finally spoke up.

"Well for one we're both in relationships. Piper is dating Percy's cousin Jason and I'm dating another guy named Charlie Beckendorf. I only get to call him Charlie though. Both Jason and Charles are close to Percy and like him they're both cool, nice, handsome, and they know how to treat ladies. Plus the main reason we're going to Percy's meeting is because both our boyfriends are going to be there and we want to show support." I had no idea they had boyfriends. Much less that were actually nice jocks in the world. I was happy for them but one question still burned my mind.

"But… How come Percy is still single? Oh and can you guys take me to the meeting and then drop me back off at my house please?" They gave one of those sneaky grins when I asked about Percy. Fuck, why did I even asked about him in the first place? This time it was Piper who decided to answer.

"Well to answer your first question, Percy has been single since freshman year basically since I've known him. I'm pretty certain a lot of girls are after him but he doesn't really pay attention to that he's pretty obtuse when it comes to female feelings. You want to know how obtuse he is. The whole school knows that his close friend Rachel likes him more than a friend but he still considers her a sister or most likely can't tell the difference. Second question, of course, Silena doesn't mind dropping you off at home after the meeting." As I took it all in it did seem Percy was a little slow or perhaps dumb. But I knew it was a façade, he's deceivingly smart. I can tell because I've learned how to read people.

"Wow Piper you do know how to overcomplicate things. Basically to answer why Percy is single it's probably because he hasn't found someone he likes as more than friend. He likes to befriend a lot of people and 99.9% of his female friends stay in the friend zone." Percy is more innocent than I thought. I would've expected him to be a womanizer and perhaps the more modern term a fuck boy. Guess not.

"Shit we're late lets go girls we got to be there early. I don't want to be late." Piper and I nodded. We finished our coffee and hopped into her Jeep. Surprisingly there was still light outside. I would've expected it to be dark by now. The drive to the local park took less than five minutes. We were there in no time. I realized as we pulled into the parking lot there were quite a few people already present.

"Wow there's a lot of people." Both Piper and Silena nodded.

"Well Jason my boyfriend and Charles probably told other people to come to help Percy out on fighting back against Luke." People were actually taking things seriously about fighting back against Luke. I had some admiration for all these people they earned some of my respect.

Piper introduced me to her boyfriend Jason Grace. He was also sporting his Goode varsity Jacket. He was attractive he had blonde hair, blue eyes, muscle built frame, and a little scar at the corner of his lip. He shook my hand and gave me a smile with a casual hey. Next Silena introduced me to her boyfriend Charles Beckendorf. Charles Beckendorf had chocolate colored skin, huge muscled frame and arms, he was extremely tall that I had to look up at him. He like Jason Grace was wearing the Goode High jacket. I could tell why Piper and Silena liked their boyfriends, they were nice. Piper told me Jason played soccer as goalkeeper and was pitcher for the baseball team. Charles was no pushover either, he played football and was the star quarterback for Goode. He also played basketball and was trying to convince Goode to also get and fund a hockey team. He said it could happen as early as the end of first semester. He seemed excited.

"Where the fuck is Percy? He's always late I swear." Jason was right it was already nearing 7:30 P.M and Percy was a no show so far. Charles interrupted Jason.

"Speak of the devil there he is." I looked where Charles was pointing. I saw Percy with Frank and some other guys (They also were jocks) I didn't know. He said hey to everyone and thanked them for coming. He also apologized to everyone for being late. But he was eating dinner and that was the reason he was late.

"Alright enough of me apologizing, I came to discuss the real reason we are here and that's to fight back against Luke". I noticed that everyone was listening attentively. Everyone was focused on what Percy had to say. Percy continued his speech.

"What I propose is to create a group. A group in which everyone here present will have each other's back. If one of us gets attacked all of us get attacked. If you see one of our own getting jumped by the Backbiters help your fellow brother/sister out." People were taking Percy's words to heart. They were believing in what he was saying. Even I was beginning to agree with the stuff he was saying.

Percy continued. "I know some may be skeptical. What I'm proposing sounds like a gang. I can't sugar coat it. But we're not a gang. I know violence might not be inevitable against the Backbiters. But what makes us different is that we're fighting for those who can't fight back. Those who are afraid of them. We won't be dealing drugs or spreading fear in the student population. We're going to inspire courage that they aren't alone against the school bullies and the Backbiters."

I had to admit Percy had a way with words. The way he said them made him a natural leader. No doubt if his audience approved of his idea of creating the group he would be the leader.

"But I do warn you guys and girls that if you're part of the group you will undoubtedly have a target on your back so choose wisely if you're in or out. Just know that those that do decide to join, the group will have your back. Now I want to see by the raise of your hands who wants to join." That was it. Everyone raised their hands up including me. Luke had too much power in school he needed to be stopped. School was supposed to be somewhere safe for students and Luke impeded that. Percy passed around a notebook to sign up to make sure we knew who was in the group. He did this specifically so no frauds said they were a part of the group without signing up.

"Unlike a gang we don't have an initiation. Once you sign up you're in. If you want to tell others about joining our safe group just tell them to text me and I'll let them sign up." I knew Percy was playing dumb when he was in school. Just by the way he thought out this process and how to run it shows everyone that he's pretty intelligent. While the notebook was being passed out Piper raised an intriguing but also important question.

"What's our group going to be called? If we want this to be successful we have to have an identity and the group has to have a name." The crowd was dead silent. No one offered a name. I guess that's one thing no one except Piper thought about.

Then I looked at Percy who had smile on his face as he said, "We're going to be called Riptide."

Everyone cheered including me. The name was catchy and everyone seemed to like it. But I decided to raise another important question. "How do we differentiate ourselves from the rest of the student population? We can't assume everyone is a Riptide because not everyone is." Everyone looked at me dumbfounded. Maybe because I was the new kid but some just nodded their heads in agreement to my question.

Surprisingly Percy asked me, "What do you think we should do to make it known who is in Riptide and who isn't?" It surprised me because I was a transfer student. I was the new kid. He could've asked anyone in the crowd or his closest friends but he asked me.

"Well what I was thinking is taking something out of the Backbiters book. By stitching our group name Riptide on our jackets like the Backbiters did to theirs." Everyone agreed they nodded their heads and everyone murmured to each other that it was the most logical option.

Percy smiled at me. A smile that meant more than his other smiles, it was deep it was a smile of affection. "Seems good to me. But if we're taking something out of the Backbiters book I think we need a symbol too don't you agree?" The crowd nodded. Everyone was all in for this. It was really happening the group was about to be officially created.

Percy once again gave a smile to the crowd as he said, "I think our symbol should be the sword." I nodded my head and everyone else did as well. IT was rare for everyone to agree on something but this was a special case.

Percy continued "There's a stitching shop near my house that we can go to now. They don't close till late. Good business for them and we also get to represent Riptide as soon as tomorrow. Let's go now"

The stitching shop according to Percy was only a few minutes away. Everyone decided to walk because it was a hassle for everyone to find parking just to get their jackets stitched. I was quiet the whole way there. Piper and Silena went ahead with their boyfriends Charles and Jason. I decided to be at the rear of the group. I wanted to be last one because I wanted to be out as long as possible before I got home. Percy then decided to walk side by side with me. He gave me one of his signature smiles but kept silent. Once we got to the shop he told everyone to go inside and get their jackets stitched. He told everyone he was going to be the last one to get his jackets stitched. It only took about two hours to get everyone's jacket stitched. The only jackets that weren't stitched yet was mine and Percy's. He told everyone to go home. I told Silena and Piper to wait for me at the park. They walked back with their boyfriends.

Percy motioned for me to get my jacket stitched and I did. I felt pride becoming a Riptide. The stitching the shop did was pure art. It looked like the stitching was part of the jacket all along. It was then Percy's turn to get his jacket stitched. His was the same as everyone else's. He was humble that way I guess. We got out of the shop a few minutes before the store closed.

"I'll walk you back to the park. Silena and Piper told me they were giving you a ride back home. It's the least I can do." He said with a smile. I couldn't help but just admire him. Since it was dark the temperature began to get cold and I began to start shivering.

He noticed this and took of his jacket and put it on me. "Here Annabeth don't freeze to death please?" I couldn't help but smile. I was enjoying this walk alone with him. The walk felt like only mere seconds. We were already at the park. Piper and Silena were staring at Percy and I. He walked me to the car and didn't leave till he made sure I was in the car.

I was about to give his varsity jacket back. But he shook his head. "You're cold. I'll see you tomorrow, you can give it back to me till then." He closed the door and walked the other direction presumably to his house.

 **A/N: I decided to do another chapter since I actually enjoyed writing the first one. Tell me what you think of it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 3**

 **ANNABETH POV**

"You have to tell us everything Annabeth." Both Piper and Silena said in unison. What was I supposed to tell them? It was just an ordinary walk back to the park. I guess Piper and Silena love their gossip.

"What is there to tell? He just walked me back to the car it wasn't anything special." Silena pumped the brake of the car. Luckily I had my seatbelt on, if not I would've flown through the windshield. When I checked ahead there weren't any cars ahead for her to suddenly stop. Silena then turned to me.

"What do you mean it wasn't anything special Annabeth? You're downplaying everything. Percy doesn't just walk anyone to the car. He just doesn't give his jacket to anyone. He only gives it to someone he trusts which are usually his closest friends or someone he obviously likes. Considering you aren't close to him yet, I think it's the latter." We rode the rest of the way home in silence. I only spoke on occasion to give Silena directions to my house.

As she parked in front of my house both Piper and Silena turned to me, but Piper was the one who spoke up. "Listen Annabeth you might think what he did was not special but we know Percy and that was out of the ordinary. Would you give it some thought? Then please tell us tomorrow what really happened."

I thanked them and wished them a good night. I didn't turn around until they were far enough down the road and I couldn't see them. I looked at my phone it was nearing 11:00 P.M. I actually enjoyed today. I made new friends and I may or may not have a crush on a certain someone. That was all washed away however, when I turned and walked into my house. My parents were still arguing. They didn't know when to quit it. I bet they didn't even notice I was arriving home so late. I didn't care I just walked up the stairs into my bedroom. I took off Percy's jacket which oddly smelled like the ocean and hung it up on a coat hanger and placed in my closet. I took off my Goode school gear and switched into pajamas. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I emptied my duffel bag which was full of Goode school gear and neatly arranged them in my wardrobe. Normally I would move straight to doing homework but since it was the first day of school today they didn't assign homework. I put my headphones on to drown out the noise from my parents arguing downstairs and thought about how good tomorrow's school day was going to be.

 **PERCYS POV**

I was walking home after the meeting at the local park, it was dark. But I was walking home in happiness. I had pride in what my friends and I created. Riptide, just saying the name gave me a surge of happiness in my body. I couldn't stop smiling the whole way home. In order to get to my mom's apartment I had to go through a sketchy alleyway. I've passed through it multiple times without issue. But tonight something made me feel very wary. I stared down the dark alleyway, it was unusually darker than previous trips. Something wasn't right. I could sense the danger from within even at the mouth of the alleyway. I decided to push down my wariness and go ahead and walk through the alleyway. I couldn't be bothered with my paranoia especially now that I was in a lot of danger just trying to defy Luke. Speaking of him, I can't wait to knock his smile off his face one of these days. I'm just waiting for the opportune moment. As I was walking through the alleyway I noticed figures were emerging from the shadows. I noticed they were wearing something familiar. Goode High varsity jackets and on the back, the symbol of the scythe. I already knew what this meant. I had no escape I was surrounded by none other than the Backbiters.

"Fuck" I said under my breath.

"Fuck is right Jackson. You're about to learn your lesson to not mess with the Backbiters." It was Ethan. The little fuck was probably waiting in this alleyway the whole day waiting for me to pass by.

"Where's Luke?" I asked. I would've guessed he would be in the forefront of jumping me.

"He has important matters to attend to. Clearly you're not important that's why he sent us to teach you some respect." Luke is such a pussy he couldn't even do the job himself. Always hiding behind his goons.

"Alright before you guys go ahead and jump me can I say something?" I was just trying to buy time hoping someone would come through the alley and call for help. I highly doubted that, I guess I had to take it like a man.

"Well-"I threw a punch at Ethan. In all honesty I was just distracting them so I could get in a few punches in before you know, I get beaten. It connected right on his jaw. I heard a sickening crack when my fist connected with his jaw. My satisfaction didn't last long. I felt pain at my right side and ribcage as one of his goons hit me from behind. I ignored the pain and threw a punch in his direction. Missed, I grazed his shoulder with my fist. Another pain shot at the back of my head. One of the other Backbiters hit me at the back of the head. I was a little dazed. I kept throwing punches but it didn't help. I missed all of them because I was so dazed. I was getting tired. I was surprised I was still standing up. Finally one of the Backbiters decided to grab me from behind while the others took turns punching me in the midsection and face. I'm not going to lie and say it didn't hurt because it fucking hurt a lot. After a dozen punches to the midsection and face they dropped me and began kicking me. My fight or flight instinct kicked in and I balled myself up, trying to protect my head and midsection.

"You're such a fraud Jackson. You act all tough but look at you, balling up from this beating. You're such a bitch." After a whole Ethan told the Backbiters to stop.

"I hope you learned to respect us now. Or this is going to keep happening." Ethan said as he spit on me. I think they were leaving because I heard footsteps through the concrete. They eventually faded or maybe I was losing consciousness. I really couldn't tell.

I laid there for what felt like hours but it could've been only minutes. It was a miracle I could get up. My head felt so heavy and I could barely think. My midsection hurt whenever I moved. My face had a recurring pain. I knew I was cut. No doubt a busted lip, probably a black eye, and probably a cut by my eye as well. As I coughed out blood I dropped to my knees. The pain from coughing hurt my whole body. I got up once again, I didn't know where I was going but I just kept walking. Midway through my walk tears fell from my eyes. But they weren't tears of pain or sadness. They were tears of anger and disgust for the Backbiters. Looking back at what they did to me. I imagined it happened to dozens of kids at Goode with nowhere near the support of friends like I had. The thought of it just made me angrier. I was mad at them and I was mad at myself. How stupid am I? I had the suspicious instinct that something was wrong yet I pushed it aside and walked through the alleyway. As if I wanted to confront whoever was in the shadows. But then I remembered what Frank, Grover, and Nico said to choose my battles wisely and not get myself killed.

In all honesty I don't even remember walking through my apartment door and getting to bed. I do remember however, that my mom was asleep. If she saw me in this condition she would no doubt have a fit. That was a problem for tomorrow. The pain and tiredness quickly overtook me and I slipped out of consciousness in my bed.

I woke up with mom yelling for me to wake up. "Percy wake up you're going to be late for class. I'm running late so eat cereal for breakfast." I heard the front door shut and lock. I got up and out of my bed. I headed to the bathroom to see the full extent of my injuries I suffered last night. It wasn't as bad I expected it. My face was in good condition I guess? My left eye was black, I had a busted lip, and I had a cut by my eyebrow. Not too bad I said to myself. However, when I took off my shirt it was a different story. My whole abdomen was bruised and tender to the touch. No doubt if I coughed or laughed hard enough I would definitely feel the pain. I could cover it up with my shirt and jacket. But then I remembered Annabeth had my jacket. Just thinking of Annabeth made me smile. But I quickly put aside that thought and focused on explaining my black eye and cuts to my friends. That's a problem for later on. I took a warm shower and brushed my teeth. I didn't wash my face because it hurt.

This time I decided to walk to school. I didn't want to draw attention to myself if I walked into the bus. Everyone's going to see me with a black eye and cuts. No doubt I would get endless questions and I couldn't deal with it so early on. I decided to take the shortcut to school to be early and avoid as many people as possible. You know how you plan things and nothing works out? Happens to me all the fucking time. Every member of Riptide was early and at the front doors of Goode. It was such a rare site considering mostly everyone who was a part of Riptide was always late to class. Shit I couldn't avoid them now. I walked up the steps and everyone immediately noticed me and then shock filled them.

"What the fuck happened to you?" With that language and pointing to the obvious it was no doubt my cousin Jason.

"Nothing happened what are you talking about?" They looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language they couldn't understand.

"What do you mean nothing happened, you look like shit. You got into a fight? What happened?" Once again you got to give Jason props he always points to the fucking obvious.

"I ran into a pole." I really didn't want to talk about the Backbiters jumping me in the alleyway near my apartment. Jason and everyone else will get riled up and no doubt go inside and start a fight before first period even begins.

"Stop being sarcastic Percy. It was them wasn't it? Alright guys everyone follow me we got teach these goons a lesson." Everyone nodded and agreed and were about to follow Jason.

"Stop. Yes it was them they jumped me in the alleyway near my apartment. But stop, don't start a fight before first period. We'll get them back but violence isn't the solution right now." Jason frowned but then decided to listen to me and nodded.

Speaking of the Backbiters. They have good timing. Whenever I talk about them they show up. It was Ethan and Luke with the rest of the Backbiters.

"Looking good Percy." Both Luke, Ethan and the rest of the Backbiters laughed. As they were about to pass. Jason shoved one of them to the ground.

"Fucking bitch, I want you try that on me." A fight was about breakout. People were shoving each other. My fellow Riptide members were waiting for me to tell them to go for it and fight the Backbiters. But I shook my head. The shoving continued.

"Alright Backbiters back off, these pussies aren't worth our time" he gave me a smirk then went inside. The Backbiters followed him and then it was just us.

"Percy why didn't you let us fight them?" I was shocked it was Frank who asked the question. Frank barely got into fights because everyone knew better. He didn't fight unless he absolutely had to either. But when he did he fucked up his opponent.

"Everyone I would love to smash their heads as much as anyone but it's only the second of day of school. With my history of fighting I can't right now and you can't either. We can't make Goode into a warzone" Surprisingly it was Jason who loved to have fights who spoke up.

"You're right Percy but remember what you said, 'if one of us gets attacked all of us gets attacked' if someone gets picked on today I'm ready to throw hands just let me know." I smiled Jason was a good cousin. A good guy too, if you want to have someone by your side in a bar fight my money's on both Jason and Frank.

"You're right, if one you gets targeted by the Backbiters just text the Riptide group chat beforehand and we'll come help. But for right now let's avoid fights." Everyone agreed and they went their separate ways. What surprised me the most, is that Luke didn't notice or failed to acknowledge we were called Riptide. Our group had patches and a symbol like the Backbiters. Either that or he probably thinks we're not serious about fighting. He's dead wrong. Annabeth broke me out of thoughts.

"Hey here' your jacket." She looked stunning today. Not that she didn't look stunning yesterday but today more so. She was wearing her Goode varsity jacket while representing Riptide. She wore sweats which outlined her body perfectly. She was curvy I had to admit. But I couldn't get dirty minded I always strayed from that.

"Thanks, I'll meet you in math class?" I asked, as I was putting on my jacket. She smiled and nodded. I opened and held the door for her and she went to whatever class she had. I liked Annabeth a lot but we needed to stay friends for now. I have a feeling that if I shifted focus from what I'm really trying to do (which is rid Goode of the toxicity brought by bullies and the Backbiters) then I would forget. Now it's not to say Annabeth is a distraction but I want to make Goode safe before I do anything remotely romantic.

The school day went by very quickly. Today I focused in class and didn't get kicked out of my math class. Annabeth helped me out with the classwork and I finally understood how to use the formulas and how to calculate the answers. In English we read through the beginning of Macbeth and we had to act out some scenes. Thank the heavens I wasn't chosen the acting was cringe worthy. For the first time in Goode history everyone ate lunch in peace, the Backbiters realized we weren't going to let them bully anyone and we weren't playing around. Not only that but they brought in extra teachers to supervise the lunchroom and impede any instigation or confrontations. P.E. was cancelled and we had study hall instead because of the incident at lunch yesterday. The staff knew that since there was a multitude of Backbiters and now Riptide members in the gymnasium it was a fight waiting to break out. I left to go home and excused myself with Coach Hedge that I wasn't going to football practice considering I was injured and practicing would just injure me further. Hedge however, grudgingly said that he would only let me miss today but I was expected be at football practice tomorrow fully bandaged up and ready for some contact. Coach Hedge was a good coach I didn't get why he didn't coach in the pros or college level. I guess that's why Goode was the best sporting school in all of New York. One reason because of him. After I left school I decided to head to the gym and workout then I would go home and rest up and get ready for the next day of school.

 **ANNABETH POV**

Everyone was anticipating Percy to walk right into Goode, high and proud and start fighting immediately. Boy where they wrong. Instead what they found was Percy walking up to school beaten up badly. I could feel it was a blow to the Riptide confidence. When your leader shows up to school beat up by the rival group you have to admit you question whether it's possible or not. But when I saw how beat up he was my heart dropped. How could someone do that to him? Who am I kidding that sounds exactly like Luke, ruthless. Percy was definitely beat up on the outside but mentally and on the inside he was determined. I could see in those see green eyes a gleam of hope and courage. When the fight was about burst out I sincerely thought the fight was actually going to turn into a full out brawl but Percy and Luke backed down which I found odd. But I pushed it aside. I gave Percy back his jacket and he smiled. I smiled back but that was the end of our interaction. I would love to say school went by quick for me but it didn't. The last ten minutes of study hall for P.E felt like hours. I noticed Percy walked straight out of school without saying anything to anyone. I left it alone and decided to not pursue it. Anyways I had cheerleading practice today.

As I left the locker room I heard an all too familiar voice. "Hurry up you untalented bitches we need to be prepared for next week. There's a soccer game between our bitterest rival, Yancy Academy. It's full of the preppy rich snobs from New York. We have to better than those skanky cheerleaders from Yancy." OF course it was that bitch Drew Tanaka. The first time I met her I could already tell she was popular and no doubt flirtatious with a lot of guys. She craved the attention.

"Now, now Drew calm down we have a week. We will definitely outperform them." Silena said with a wink. Silena was coordinating the moves we should use for the boys soccer games. We got progressively better but still needed work. Thank the heavens for the week to practice. As we were taking a break I noticed that Drew was wearing a guy's varsity jacket and the emblem on the back of it was the scythe. It was a Backbiter's jacket.

I came up to her and confronted her. "Why are you wearing that?"

She gave me a wicked smile. "Oh this? This my boyfriend's. You should know him Ethan Nakamura. I thought I'd support him and the Backbiters by wearing his jacket." She was baiting me.

"Of course you are. Both you and Ethan are perfect for each other. Two classless idiots work well together." I said rather coldly. Drew's smile melted. Coldness were in her eyes. But she returned with a remark of her own.

"You're friends with Percy aren't you?" I nodded. Everyone around began to listen to the conversation.

"Pretty boy Percy, poor him. Ethan told me how he tried to fight back when he was getting jumped. But he got crushed. Lovely bruises and cuts he has don't you agree? You see Annie Bell the Backbiters and I are atop of the school hierarchy and we stay at the top by crushing people who are not popular. But if any of the other popular kids try to threaten the Backbiters well you see Percy is the example." What a bitch I felt like slapping her right there and then but I kept my composure.

Drew began packing her things "I'm leaving Silena I got the moves down I'll come back tomorrow for practice" With that Drew walked out casually as if nothing she just said was violent and disgusting.

Silena decided to end practice early today. Piper asked me if I wanted to come to a dining place to eat dinner. I immediately said yes. She said it was her treat which made it even better. As we got to the dining we realized there was no parking.

"Dang there's no parking which means the diner is probably packed at this moment?" Silena was cursing under her breath as we circled the block multiple times looking for parking.

"Why is it packed? There isn't anything special going on is there?" Since I was new to the city I didn't know if they had a tradition in which everyone decided to pack a diner.

"Not really. To be completely honest I don't even know why the diner is full and I go this place often." Piper said as she pointed to Silena at an open spot down the road.

We hopped out of the car and began walking towards the diner. We noticed inside that someone was performing which was most likely the reason the diner was packed. When we entered inside we noticed it was Nico who was singing a solo and playing the electric guitar. I really didn't know Nico but by the way he played he was really good. The diner was packed full of our classmates from Goode no doubt enjoying Nico's performance. As we sat down and ordered our food I decided to break the silence once again.

"You guys know Nico? I saw him at the meeting yesterday at the park." Both Silena and Piper looked at Nico and smiled.

"Yeah he is Percy's cousin. Really chill dude. Has some serious talent when it comes performances and he's really smart. He and Jason care for Percy deeply." I laughed internally. I felt like the whole school was related to Percy. Every time I ask about someone and their relation to Percy it's either a friend or a cousin.

"He has some killer talent no doubt the girls are all over him." This time both Silena and Piper's smiles melted. Their eyes looked full of sadness.

"Yeah he does… But he's gay. He hasn't exactly found his man yet. Not only that but Luke and his goons always make fun of him but it doesn't discourage him. Both Percy and Jason support him and hope he finds the right guy" I felt bad for Nico. Not because he was gay, but because he was bullied for having a different sexual identity. I decided to stay quiet. So much sadness in Goode, you can't even be yourself without getting targeted. Our food came and we ate in silence. We ate pretty quickly. I guess we were very hungry. Piper paid the bill and then we were leaving. Silena dropped me off first.

I got home and surprisingly none of my parents were home. I went upstairs into my room and decided to begin my homework. I was finished in no time. I wasn't in the mood for reading so I decided to text Piper. Piper and I talked about how classes were which in all honesty made me even more bored. I decided I would leave Piper on read and decide to reflect on today's events.

I came back to feeling stressed that we have to perfect our cheerleading routine so we can represent the boys' soccer team. According to Piper they're really good. They've been state champs for the last three years. From the outside Goode sounded so good. Best sports high school in the state. Education and grades are well above average. High graduation rate and a lot of students getting into good colleges. But those who actually attended Goode knew better. On the outside it looked like the perfect school. On the inside no one knew yet but it would soon become a warzone. Annabeth let that sink in when she lost consciousness and fell into sleep.

 **A/N I know this episode is kind of like a filler but I still have formally introduce some more characters. So far I've had some fun writing these. Tell me what you think.**

 **P.S. I've been pumping these out kind of quick to make up for the lack posting I won't be doing. I will still post but not as frequently as I did this week.**

 **Thanks I hope you enjoy -MJ**


	4. Chapter 4

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 4**

 **PERCY POV**

I left school quickly. I didn't say goodbye to any of my friends because I was literally not in the mood for anything. I got bombarded with questions all day from other students and even teachers. Mr. Brunner especially looked concerned with me. It was odd. Every time after he looked at me, he would look to the back of the class at Luke and his crew. I knew deep down Mr. Brunner knew it was them. He even held me back after class and asked what happened. I of course told him some bullshit lie about falling down the stairs. Still he didn't look convinced but either way decided to not press me. He just told me to be careful and that if I needed anyone to talk to that I could trust him. All the teachers say that but I don't need to talk to anyone. Words haven't worked at this school I guess actions will.

As I was heading to the gym after school I noticed someone was trailing me. It was Frank. I turned around. "Hey Frank what are you doing around here? Your house is the other direction."

He was fumbling for words. "Umm uh I just wanted- we should hangout..." There was obviously something he wasn't telling me. He had Hazel to go hangout with.

"What about Hazel? Doesn't she want to hang out with you?" I waited for his response. He wasn't prepared at all. He was silent for a minute.

"Well she's hanging out with Rachel. They were going shopping somewhere, I don't know where." He was obviously lying. Rachel doesn't go shopping during the weekdays and Hazel disliked shopping.

"Okay… Well I'm busy Frank I have stuff to do I'll see you around." I waved him goodbye but he didn't let me go. He grabbed my shoulder.

"I'm going with you. Jason, Nico, and I agreed that after what happened to you, one of us has to be with you. You know in case they come again." I was slightly annoyed. I got jumped. So what? I survived and I'm walking.

"I know what you're going to say Percy. That you're okay and that you don't need anyone. But they're following you. Look behind us to the far left." What was Frank talking about? The only one following me was him. Either way I decided to look behind us to the far left. I noticed them right away. They gave me those wicked smiles. Two of Luke's fucking goons were following me. It enraged me. I felt like going over there and just knocking them down flat on their asses. That's what I did. I marched towards their direction and Frank followed. Unlike the previous night Luke only sent two goons to follow me around.

There smiles melted when they noticed us coming their way. One of his goons was about to say something because he opened his mouth as if he was going to talk. I slipped off my bag and rushed him tackling him to the ground. His other friend was trying to help him out but Frank grabbed his jacket and flung him to the other side. I was pounding this guy to the underworld. He was just lying there taking the beating I was handing him. Unlike Ethan and the other assholes I let him get up so it could be a fair fight. He swung and I dodged it easily by moving my head to the side. I threw a punch and connected with his nose. I sent another haymaker in his direction and connected once again. This time he slumped to the ground. I realized I knocked him out. Such a softie I thought to myself.

I didn't continue punching him because there's no honor in hitting someone who was unconscious and unable to defend himself. Unlike me Frank didn't throw any punches. He just flung the other Backbiter to the ground and then pinned him so he could see his pal get wrecked by me. Frank let him go and he went to help his friend and picked him up and was dragging him away. Before I left I decided to give the conscious Backbiter a message.

"Get fucked by Riptide assholes." With that I turned around and strolled my way home with Frank.

I knew I said I was going to the gym but after fighting that goon I was drained. My whole body was filled with a dull pain no doubt from the bruises I had received. I didn't feel the pain during the fight because I was pretty sure I was high on adrenaline. Frank and I were talking about how awesome it felt to finally be on the delivering end of a beating instead of the receiving end. We went to my place and decided to binge watch movies on television. We watched various horror movies and then played some games on my Xbox and PlayStation. Even though I played during my spare time I was some serious garbage at all the games. Frank scored like 10 goals on FIFA 18. I decided then to move onto Madden 18, same result I got crushed 42 to 3. 2k18 same result. I was using the Golden State Warriors since I knew they were a great team but I still got smashed by Frank. The most embarrassing part was that he was using the worst team on 2k18 with the lowest overalls. Frank was getting tired of beating me in the games so we decided to just chill until we fell asleep.

I had an idea pop into my head. "Hey Frank let's download a dating app just for shits and giggles." Frank laughed and agreed to download the app. We downloaded them onto our phones and created our profiles. We picked random photos from our previous pictures and put them on our "dating" profile. Now it was time for our biographies.

Frank decided to put "just for the shits and giggles. This is not serious" on his profile because if Hazel found out he's dead. I on the other hand put into my profile the basic "Hey" and left it at that. We decided to pay the premium just to see who liked our profiles. It wasn't expensive and plus money wasn't really an issue with Frank. Since Frank had a girlfriend he decided not to like any girls profile because he felt it was wrong. I did the same because to be completely honest I was fine being a loner for now. We laughed our asses to sleep. We found so many profiles that belonged to some of the students at Goode. The pictures and biographies they wrote made us laugh hysterically. Eventually from the continued laughter Frank was defeated by his fatigue and was snoring in no time. I woke him and told him to sleep in the guest room. He nodded and went to the guest room and in a few seconds he was snoring.

I texted my mom that Frank was staying over at our place and she said it was fine. I felt bad for my mom, she sometimes worked two shifts to pay off her student loans even though she never finished college. She didn't have to pay for the apartment or anything related to me because my dad paid for it. My dad was never there for me he left when I was young. But according to my mom he's filthy rich similar to Jason and Nico's fathers. Apparently my dad owned a seafood company, owned all the aquariums in North America, and an importing and exporting company with access to all the ports around the world. I resented him for it. But at least he had the decency to pay everything for me. My dad bought all my clothes, game systems, and furniture, basically everything. He gave me a lot of allowance that sometimes I couldn't even spend it all. Nico and Jason also told me about their resentment they had towards their father. And like brother like brother they were also filthy rich. I guess our fathers had life figured out considering that the brothers were all insanely rich. Jason's dad owned an airline company, created a luxury jet for other filthy rich people, and owns a private airport in mostly every country. Similar to me, Jason's dad sends him allowance and pays everything for him. Now Nico's dad owned a private investigating company diving into the lives of his clients to see if they were evil or good. He also owned a limousine company which usually transported the dead to their respective locations and owned a tailoring shop. Like Jason and I, Nico's dad paid for all his expenses.

As I was reflecting on the bad parenting we had (specifically our fathers), I realized how close we cousins were. Jason, Nico, and I were so similar that we could connect on an emotional level all the time. We experienced the same things and that's why our bond was strong. I was smiling to myself. I knew how lucky I was. My eyes were getting droopy so I shut off the TV and went into room. As soon as I got into my bed I collapsed into my sleep.

I woke up at around 6:00 A.M. Way to early, school doesn't start till 8. When I checked my phone I was expecting the group chat to be the constant buzzing on my phone, but I was wrong. My phone was full of notifications from the dating app. When I opened the app, it showed I had over 50 likes on my profile. I scoffed I wasn't even serious about the thing. So I deleted the app straight away, I wasn't going to be bothered from the constant females messaging me about hooking up. Last thing I needed was everyone labeling me a womanizer.

I texted Frank to see if he was awake. He texted back quick. Meaning he was definitely awake. I went the guest room and found Frank laying on the bed and checking his phone.

"Same thing for you huh? Endless notifications." Frank looked at me then to his phone.

"Yea I'm deleting the app before someone from Goode finds me on here and tells Hazel." He looked worried but if Hazel finds out I'll let her know it was my idea and Frank wasn't serious about it.

"Percy I have to go home to change and freshen up. I promised Nico and Jason that I would walk with you to school so come to my house will you? You can shower at my place just bring your clothes in the bag." I was planning on going back to sleep but I decided to go with Frank so I nodded.

Frank lived a few blocks from my mom's apartment. We were on our way to his house the sun was just arising from the horizon. I was yawning because I was still tired. I've never woken up this early in my life unless it was to get some water to drink, then I went back to sleep. When we got to his house Frank realized he forgot his keys inside the house. I was laughing internally. He can be such a klutz sometimes. He rang the doorbell and his grandmother answered. Now an old lady shouldn't scare you but I've been over to Frank's house a few times and I can tell you Grandma Zhang isn't someone you play with.

"Frank Zhang you forgot your keys? You're disgracing me" she said as she looked at me then gave me a smile. I smiled back and she let us through.

Frank lived in a colonial house. It was huge. His family is pretty wealthy as well. All he has now is his grandmother. Like me his father abandoned him at a young age. His mom sadly died in a battlefront a few years ago. He still hasn't gotten over it but he's pulling through. Frank went to his room to take a shower and he told me to go to one of the guest rooms and take a shower. I decided to go down the hall and into the nearest guest room. It was neat and clean since Frank and his grandmother barely had company or guests over. I laid out my clothes onto the bed and headed into the shower. Thank goodness for the Zhang hospitality, they had a bath towel in the bathroom. I totally had forgotten to bring one. I quickly took my shower and got dressed. I went back into the bathroom too look at myself in the mirror. The cuts were healing. They were barely visible. The black eye was still black but on the outer edges it was turning yellow which meant it was healing. I washed my face with cold water then headed into the living room to wait for Frank.

"Boys, the maid has breakfast ready. Come into the dining room when you are ready." Grandma Zhang called from the dining room. I didn't want to go into the dining room yet, to avoid awkwardness with his grandmother and the maid.

I went into Frank's room to see what was taking him so long in the shower. I opened the door and he was just lying in his bed. "Frank what are you doing? Breakfast is ready" He quickly got up and told me to head into the dining room.

We arrived at the dining room and breakfast was a feast. We had choice of whatever to eat. Well at least I did. Grandma Zhang scolded Frank that he shouldn't eat anything fattening when he tried to get something. Poor Frank, he only ate the healthy alternatives for breakfast. I got myself a plate of French toast, some eggs, waffles, strawberries, hash browns, bacon, sausage, and ham. I basically ate for two but the food was delicious. I drowned my food with syrup because the syrup was so good, according to Grandma Zhang it was a family recipe. Grandma Zhang left shortly afterwards to attend to whatever old grandmas do nowadays. We finished eating and after thanking the maid and Grandma Zhang for breakfast we left to go for school.

Frank was pouting at me. "That's not fair you got to eat what you wanted. You ate a feast. All I got was fruit and French toast" I just laughed. I did feel bad for Frank but the food was so good it pushed it out of my mind.

"How do you think the Riptide members are holding up?" I asked Frank. The Backbiters did back off with the confrontation at the front doors of school. I wondered why.

"Well the Riptide group chat has been silent so I guess it's a good sign." Frank said as he was looking around as if looking for someone.

"Who are you looking for?" Frank kept looking around before he finally faced me.

"Coast is clear. Just looking to see if any Backbiters are following us like yesterday." I had totally forgotten about the fight I had yesterday. The food was that memorable I forgot all about yesterday.

We walked to school in silence and like yesterday the Riptide members were waiting by the front door to enter together once again. They all waved at Frank and I and we waved back. I noticed Jason had a bruise on his cheek. But from what I recall there weren't any fight reported yesterday by the school. So why did he have a bruise?

"Hey Jason what happened to your face?" He said hey to Frank before responding to me.

"Those assholes were following me yesterday. I quickly dealt with them though. Problem is that I've heard they're following all of the Riptide members." He looked frustrated. Jason made it sound easy disposing of the Backbiters but I knew it was a struggle. The purple souvenir on his cheek was the proof.

"Same, Frank and I dispatched two of Luke's goons who were following me, and no Frank didn't save my ass. I fucked the other guy up." Jason smiled. We always had a rivalry when it came to fighting. Which one could fight the most guys and still win. Or who was the better athlete. We agreed however that I was the better fighter but in terms of the better athlete we were even. Now it's not to say Jason is a pushover because he isn't. Jason is a veteran in fighting he was fighting since he was two. Fighting anyone threatening him on the playground. You could say he came out fighting from the womb.

"So what should we do Percy? You're the leader" To be completely honest I had no idea to make the Backbiters back off. I was surprised they did the last encounter.

"You're my right hand man what do you propose we do." I said smiling to him.

He gave a mischievous smile. "I say we let the Stolls prank these assholes. After all, the Stolls always prank me at soccer practice even though we're playing on the same team". I nodded and told Jason to go ahead with it and to tell the Stoll brothers.

This no doubt would draw some skirmishes between us. But we had to show we weren't scared of them. I think we haven't had a full out brawl because Luke is measuring our strength and we're measuring there's. Even though I want to destroy all the Backbiters it wasn't a good idea to start an all-out brawl with them. The smarter choice was just to fight smaller fights because after all the Backbiters did outnumber us slightly. Luke's gang was centralized within the school, his territory was the school. But he knew if he took his bullshit outside of school and decided to mark territory he would quickly get eliminated by the real gangs with guns and serious dirty money.

For all the talk against Luke's gang being a gang they weren't fully a gang. First off they weren't big enough they were only about 50+ in total. So you could say they were a group. But that still didn't excuse his actions which is bringing fear and harming drugs to the Goode student population. And I would still call them a gang because they acted like one.

Even though I knew we could take the Backbiters one on one if it came to an all-out brawl it would be 50+ against 30-40 Riptides. I didn't like our chances in that one. Especially now because we don't have that many female members. We only had about 5ish. Luke has about 15 female backbiters which are mostly Drew's followers.

Ugh mentioning Drew almost made me throw up. She was such a slut. Drew always tried to grab my attention by wearing revealing clothing. Honey that doesn't work on me. She even said just having a one night stand with me would be fine that we didn't have to be in a relationship. I always avoided her and it seemed to work, she stopped following me. But this was last year, sophomore year. Now she dates that other asshole Ethan. Another guy I hope I could seriously fuck up soon. I wanted payback for what he did to me a few days ago.

I motioned for everyone to get inside and everyone followed. I didn't want another confrontation with Luke, at least not yet. I told them same thing, to try avoid fighting but if it couldn't be helped to alert the Riptide group chat. We all went to class. Frank and I loved today's Ancient History lesson. Today Mr. Brunner talked about the gods of both Roman and Greek mythology. He basically reiterated they were the same gods just with different names and personalities but they had the same domains. Also the Romans had a few more gods within their mythology. Sometimes the gods patronage changed but it relatively stayed the same. Frank and I kept going after each other on which one was better. I of course said Greek and he said Roman.

"No way Frank, Poseidon is cooler and calmer in Greek Mythology. In Roman mythology he's named after a planet and it seems that everyone was scared of him and only respected him out of fear not because they loved him like in Greek Mythology." Frank just shook his dead and decided to drop it. He knew when it came to arguments you couldn't change my mind and of course you couldn't win because I kept on debating. I should be part of the debate team but they talked about other things not mythology.

Ancient History ended quickly and I waved goodbye to Frank as he left to English. I went to Math and noticed that Annabeth wasn't in class. That was odd she was usually early and the first person in Math class. I waited for her expecting her to be there but she never arrived. Maybe she overslept and hasn't woken up yet. I laughed to myself. The smart and studious girl oversleeping school. That sounded like something I would do.

Instead Drew came to sit next to me. She took Annabeth's spot. Fuck I thought to myself. I thought I got rid of this slut.

"Hey Percy, are you healing okay?" she asked. Ugh she was wearing too much makeup. She looked like a clown. She should really get a clown occupation no doubt she would get it. All she needed to complete the clown look was the big red nose.

I decided to ignore her and just kept looking forward. Mrs. Dodds came in and looked surprised not finding Annabeth at the front of the room. Instead of Annabeth she found Drew which was a serious downgrade in my opinion. Annabeth was smart and beautiful. Drew was ugly and stupid. Sometimes I asked myself if she could even write her own name or if someone else did it for her.

Mrs. Dodds motioned for the class to finish their conversation and to settle down. She began class. I zoned out as soon as she began speaking about more formulas. I was zoned out for about half of the class period. I broke out of my daydreaming when I felt something. It was brushing my left thigh and was getting dangerously close for comfort. When I looked down I noticed it was Drew. She was grazing my thigh with her hand. She was rubbing my thigh inching closer to her target. I immediately grabbed her hand and flung it off me.

"What the fuck are you doing? Get your filthy hand off me." It was no use she kept touching my thigh. I had respect for females and I wouldn't physically hurt them. But Drew was getting dangerously close to being the exception.

"Come on Percy I know you've been wanting me since freshman year. You can have me" This bitch is a lunatic. She seriously needs to chill out. I once again grabbed her hand but this time a little harder.

"Stop touching me I don't want you. I never did. Now stop." This time she stopped. But she looked angry. There was coldness in her eyes. I just ignored her and zoned out once again, this time in peace. The bell rung which meant end of second period. I was just getting up. But before I left the door Drew grabbed my arm.

"You made a mistake. I'm going to tell Ethan and he's going to beat your ass again." Drew had some fucking nerve. She was baiting me and I of course took the bait.

"Oh yea? Tell him he knows where to find me! If he wants to fight, throw hands, scrap, or whatever he knows where I sit at lunch. Tell his bitch ass that I'm waiting." Drew couldn't believe what I said. She just marched out of the class. Drew thought her threat would scare but in fact it made me angrier.

I went to my next class which was English. Mr. Blofis once again made us act out some scenes from Macbeth. I was blessed again by not being chosen to act. It wasn't much better though the cringe was unreal. Even Hazel who sat next to me fell asleep probably of boredom. English class took forever to end, it was torture. But it was finally lunch, I was hungry. I know I know I ate a lot at breakfast at the Zhang house but I'm a growing boy. I was excited to get pizza for lunch today, I had been craving it for a long time. The lunch staff finally decided to put pizza on the menu. All I was hoping for was to eat my pizza with my friends, in peace.

Percy had forgotten what he told Drew in Math class. It wasn't going to be a peaceful lunch.

Tune in for the next chapter to find out what happens!

 **A/N Hey fellow readers this another chapter I pumped out rather quick. If you keep showing the love I'll keep writing more and hopefully at faster pace. So far, it's only been about a week since I started writing this story but it's been a blast. Once again show some love and review.**

 **Thanks**

 **-MJ**


	5. Chapter 5

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 5**

 **PERCY POV**

I was walking to the cafeteria with all my friends. Which meant basically everyone in Riptide. We opened the cafeteria doors and trickled in. We laid our bags down in the surrounding tables and then went to line up for lunch. Jason was behind me and grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey it's done, the Stolls have done some mischievous things. They filled some Backbiter lockers with men shaving cream. Not only that but they pick pocketed some of their wallets too. No doubt they're pissed but they won't know who did it." I laughed. Trolling these assholes sounded pretty fun. But we let the pranking up to the Stoll brothers, they were experts. I can hear them from behind laughing and no doubt planning there next pranking heist or perhaps victim.

This time around Jason and Beckendorf sat at my table with Frank, Grover, and Nico. Piper and Silena decided to sit with the girls, Rachel, Juniper, and Hazel. We were just talking about sports while we ate. Everyone was having a good time. Jason wanted all of us to come to his and the Stoll brothers first soccer game of the season this weekend. I told him I would go and everyone at our table agreed. I also told him to put the message in the Riptide group chat so everyone knows and those that want to come, can go.

One question still lingered on my mind. Where was Annabeth? I searched for her in her usual lonely table but she wasn't there. I looked through every table around the cafeteria, still no sign of her. That was very odd, she was the perfect attendance student how could she not be here I asked myself. Those thoughts were quickly tossed aside when I saw trouble heading our direction.

Ethan and the rest of the Backbiters were heading to my table. Great I thought to myself, I can't even eat lunch in peace. Ethan was accompanied by Drew. I now remembered the threat she issued me in second period Math. Jason was the first to get up, then me, then Beckendorf.

"I hear you were bothering my girlfriend Jackson. You know really well what happens when you mess with one of us don't you? Or do we have to remind you?" Ethan didn't even know what really happened between Drew and I. That bitch was lying I didn't even lay my hands on her except when she kept touching me inappropriately.

"I didn't bother her at all. She was the one that was touching me. I told her stop. If that's bothering someone then you're fucking stupid." Ethan looked pissed when I told him this.

"He's lying Ethan, he wants me. He has always coveted me and my body. Don't listen to him." Drew had a way with words. She easily convinced the puppet of a boyfriend she had.

"I don't care you don't treat my girlfriend like that. Now you're going to pay." But before they made a move, Travis one of the Stoll brothers launched a plate of spaghetti which hit one of the Backbiters in the back. Meatball sauce was dripping from his jacket. Everyone started to laugh. He was enraged he went after Travis and tackled him to the ground. He started throwing punches but his brother Connor hit him upside the head with the food tray. The battle was started. Reinforcements for the Backbiters were heading our direction. They went after Connor. Jason sent a thunderous punch and connected with Ethan's jaw. Ethan fell down but he wasn't knocked out. He got up. All the Riptide members joined in on the brawl. Other students who were bystanders began recording.

Jason was taking on Ethan. Beckendorf was taking on two other Backbiters at once. The girls got out of the way because punches were flying everywhere. I went after a group of Backbiters who were jumping Nico and Grover. Nico was dodging and weaving. Grover was sending round house kicks that were deadly if they connected. Nico was holding his own and knocked out the goon he was fighting. He went to go help out another member. Grover was struggling but I knew he could handle it. I tackled one of the Backbiters to the ground and was kicking his ass. One of the other Backbiters pulled me off and started punching. He connected on a few. I was eating his punches, they weren't hurting at the moment. He was huge, no doubt a teammate of mine from football. He probably was an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman. Like me he was eating my punches. It was a back and forth affair. I got some help thankfully. Riptide members were cleaning up. They took on the big football lineman and tackled him to the ground. I doubt anyone could knock him out, he was vicious. It took three Riptides just to subdue him. Ethan was now coming my way. Jason's attention was distracted from some other goon. I saw from across the room Frank was knocking goons around left and right. But he was about to be overrun by a group of four. They went after him and started progressing and wearing down big Frank. Beckendorf from the corner of my eye was now getting beat up by two other goons. We were losing. We were outnumbered. But we couldn't back out. This was. This was war.

Finally Ethan came and I beckoned him. I was waiting for this moment. For this fight. But that's when security began overrunning the lunch room. There were about two dozen of security guards marching and breaking up fights. Teachers were also helping. The cafeteria was in utter chaos. As I was inspecting my surroundings I noticed Ethan camouflaged into the crowd no doubt fleeing like the pussy he is.

Security guards tackled both Backbiter and Riptide members to stop fights. You could sense the utter hatred from both groups. The atmosphere was in peril. The lunchroom destroyed. Tables were flipped and chairs were tossed aside. Food and drinks spilled all over the floor. Students who were bystanders were fleeing outside the cafeteria. They were running to avoid being caught. Anyone who was found would obviously get into loads of trouble. Even the principal Mr. D was in the cafeteria breaking up fights. They messed up his colorful shirt which no doubt made him even angrier. Fights were still going on. But Riptide was losing. We were getting beaten and crushed. Some of our guys got tired and just couldn't go on. They just couldn't go on any longer. They were now on the receiving end of the beating. They were just taking it like the hardened fighters they were. It took a while for every fight to stop. What separated Riptide and the Backbiters were two dozen security guards. They looked like riot control. You know, those that go and out stop riots around the world when things get really ugly.

Everyone was rounded up. Jason, Nico, Grover, Beckendorf, Frank, and I were in decent shape. The others however were in pretty bad shape. From busted lips, black eyes, bruised ribs, and face cuts, that was the severity of some injuries to our members.

"You have disgraced this school. How dare you impudent, ungrateful, and spoiled children decide to make this school a warzone?" Mr. D was so angry and annoyed his whole face was red. Which would've been funny on a different day and a different scenario.

Jason spoke up. "It was those assholes fault they instigated everything. We were eating lunch in peace but they came our way and attacked our friend so we responded." Mr. D didn't hear any of it. He was beyond the listening stage.

"Watch your mouth Mr. Grace. Don't want to get into more trouble than you are in right now." Jason stayed silent and just shook his head.

It was Ethan's turn to explain and of course he played the victim. "Mr. D we didn't instigate anything. Percy was bothering my girlfriend Drew so I walked to his table to have a civilized conversation with him but he retaliated with violence. We're the victims here." I was so pissed. How the fuck can he say he's the victim when the whole fight was basically his girlfriend's fault.

It was my turn to explain. "Sir it wasn't our fault. You heard what Ethan said he started this because his girlfriend lied. To me his explanation sounds like an excuse on why he started the situation. He was jealous that his girlfriend likes me more than him. So of course he came to confront me" It was Ethan's turn to be angry. He was staring daggers at me. But I didn't care. It seemed that Mr. D believed my story but in the end it didn't matter. All of us got off with little punishment. So I thought.

"You fools no doubt tainted the Goode reputation with a brawl. However, Goode is known for its unrivaled sports athletes. Therefore I'm issuing a warning. This your first strike you have two more. IF you dare strikeout you're expelled. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone nodded. Everyone also exhaled a sigh of relief. I guess our sports prestige bailed us out this time.

"Oh I forgot to mention. Although I won't suspend or expel you idiots. You will still serve a month of detention and a month of lunch duty meaning you will clean all this mess starting today. After School" Everyone was baffled. That was a far worse punishment than getting suspended. At least while you're suspended you don't have to do anything. But now we have to serve detention after we clean the cafeteria. That blew everyone off.

 **ANNABETH POV**

I woke up early this morning around 6:00 A.M. However, I wasn't going directly to school. My parents and I were heading to family therapy. I didn't get why I had to go, they were the ones arguing after all. I barely had a conversation with my father Frederick Chase. He was a college professor at the nearby institutes but after he left work all he had time for was arguing with my mom. Well stepmom ever since my biological mom left when I was young, he's been with my stepmom. It isn't a happy marriage. The only time I don't see them argue is when we have dinner and that's because they don't like to argue when I'm there.

We've had a few family therapy sessions already but so far there hasn't been much progress. Even the therapist gets a little annoyed from the constant arguing between the two. It's as if they're a lost cause. All session long my mom and dad point fingers for the ones who's at fault. The therapist always looks at me with sympathy knowing that as of right now I'm not receiving good parenting. I was used to it. I was independent. I didn't really need my parents except for them to provide food and shelter but from therein everything I could handle on my own.

"Are you ready Annabeth" yelled my dad from downstairs.

"I'm coming. Just finishing up". I was putting on my Goode varsity jacket with some plain khaki pants.

As I was coming down I found it extremely quiet. No arguing. It was a miracle. But it was one of those uneasy silences. As if there was deeper meaning hidden within it. I noticed my dad was waiting for me by the door.

"Hurry up honey we're late." I nodded and went into the living room to get my school bag and headed to the door and the minivan my dad owned.

My stepmom was nowhere to be seen. Which was very odd. She always went with us in the minivan to the family therapy sessions. My dad could tell I was questioning this and decided to respond.

"She'll meet us there. She wanted to be there ahead of us." But deep down, I could sense his sadness. Something was definitely going on but I didn't know, not yet at least.

As we got to the facility I noticed my stepmom's car was already there. She was probably inside already. As we made our way into the office I noticed we were heading into a different subsection. I couldn't quite read the section's name because my dad was hurrying me. Unlike the other session I was pulled into a separate room while my parents were alone with a different therapist. The therapist that was assigned to me asked the same bullshit, "How are you?" "You're not getting abused?" "They're feeding you?" I was honestly tired of answering the same questions. Yes they fed me, no I don't get abused, and I'm fine.

"So how's school, everything going well?" For the first time at a therapy session I actually smiled.

"Uh yes I actually enjoy my new school very much." For the first time in forever I actually genuinely liked where I was. I had friends unlike my old school. They were good friends too. I actually felt that at Goode there were actually well intentioned guys. Not as many of them but still, some good guys.

This therapist didn't show her face and neither did I. We were separated by a screen so we couldn't see each other. This way it was more private and more comfortable. I recognized her voice however, it was from a memory deep down lost and forgotten somewhere. We talked more about school and my friends. It was an enjoyable conversation. I had emotion when I spoke about my friends.

"Well it was nice talking to you Ms. Chase you seem very happy. I'm sincerely happy for you." Behind the screen I smiled because I genuinely did enjoy my conversation with her.

"What's your name mam, I need to know your name so I can properly address you next time." I said.

"Ah yes, my name. My name is Athena. I hope we can continue to talk more. But hopefully next time face to face?" She formed it in a form of question. For some odd reason I trusted this therapist. She was insanely wise and had the conversation planned out that way it was never awkward.

The session ended relatively quickly. But when I checked my clock, it was the beginning of third period at school. Great I'm only going be there for lunch and two other classes that aren't even that important.

I waited for my parents in the waiting room. They took a little longer than I anticipated. The school was only about a five minute drive from the offices we were at. My parents didn't come out from the consulting room until 30 minutes later. Both my parents looked as if they had shed tears. I found that very odd. What the hell is going on? Maybe the therapist snapped and just insulted my parents' marriage and how hopeless they were. I knew deep down that wasn't the case though. But I didn't push my parents and felt they would tell me when they were ready.

We decided to eat breakfast at a nearby waffle house. I didn't complain, but I knew that I would have to play catchup on the makeup work. The school was advised that I would be coming in later into class today. They had a weird policy, they still allowed kids into class even if they came to class for only last period. Again I wasn't complaining, my perfect attendance record won't be stained because technically, I have an excused tardiness for a "Doctors" appointment. I ordered the basic breakfast which was just pancakes, eggs, a hash brown, and some ham. My parents ordered the same thing. We ate breakfast in an awkward silence. No one spoke up. I didn't either something was compelling both my parents from talking. Also I wasn't going to force a conversation. Plus I was perfectly happy eating breakfast in silence. I was used to it.

My dad paid the bill. My stepmom left to work without saying goodbye to either of us which once again was definitely a red flag. I let it pass. She was definitely annoyed at something which most likely was my dad. I looked at my dad and he just shrugged. But I knew from his body language that he was stiff and if I asked anything pertaining as to what happened no doubt he would get defensive.

My dad drove me to school just as the third period bell was ringing which meant class had ended. I decided to take my time to get to my locker. Since I had eaten not too long ago I didn't want to sit by myself especially since I wasn't going to be eating anything. I put books into my locker and just grabbed my art supplies and gym clothes for last period. Instead of going to the cafeteria I decided to go to the school library. Not surprisingly no one was present in it. It was all alone except for the librarian. She gave me a soft smile which I kindly returned. The Goode school library was immense. Bookshelves among bookshelves were covering every wall and space possible. The books looked new, as if they hadn't been touched at all, much less moved from the shelves. I was strolling through all the sections to see what books caught my eye. A few of them caught my eye from the Nonfiction and fiction section. I grabbed the four books that looked interesting to me then took them to front desk to the librarian. I was ready to check them out.

"You're the first one this year to come into the library and check out a book." She looked genuinely surprised that I was checking out the books.

"Some students just don't have appreciation for literature. Much less I doubt some of the can read anyways." She gave a small giggle. She looked appreciative that I finally made her doing something worthwhile. No doubt it got boring for her as librarian especially since no one even came to the library.

I said thanks as I took them out and placed them into my bag. I had to go back to my locker to place the newly checked out books. Once I did that I decided to head to the cafeteria and just sit at Silena and Piper's table just to have a hearty conversation until we had to go to our classes. That didn't happen. I noticed there was screams and sounds of trays, food, tables, and chairs being thrown all over the place. I heard all that noise from 100 feet away from the doors. At first in my mind I thought maybe lunch had ended early and lunch staff was clearing out the cafeteria for a school event. But when I opened the cafeteria doors I noticed I was wrong. Dead wrong.

What I found was hundreds of boys fighting like little children. Food was being thrown around the lunchroom. At first it looked like just a food fight. But then I noticed that they were throwing actual punches. I was in serious shock. What the fuck is going on here? I thought to myself. I noticed Piper and Silena coming to my direction.

"What the fuck is going on here?" I said. My voice sounded muffled from all the commotion and screaming from all the other students who were recording the fight.

"What do you think is happening Annabeth? The boys are fighting." I felt like just leaving the room.

"Thanks Piper I notice they're fighting but why?" This time Silena spoke up. We had to move around a lot because stray punches were flying everywhere.

"Right now only the boys know. But it definitely had something to do with Drew. That bitch is always causing something." OF course. I believed Silena. But why would Riptide start a fight over Drew. Unless someone was trying to court her and of course she turned into a victim calling rape.

"We better get out of here Annabeth. Sooner or later the security guards are going to come dashing through those doors. Anyone who's caught in the lunchroom is going to be in huge trouble." I partially heard what she was saying. I heard the let's get out part. But I wanted to find Percy. Where the hell is he?

"Let's find Percy first and warn him to get out." Both Silena and Piper shook their heads.

"He's not going to leave. He's not going to leave his friends behind. He's loyal that way. That's why he's been expelled from a lot of schools when he was younger. For fighting against bullies. Now let's go."

I felt Piper's hand grab my arm and drag me out of the cafeteria. Thank goodness she did. A minute later dozens of security guards were barging through the cafeteria doors. A minute after that and hundreds of junior students were stampeding trying to get out of the cafeteria. Some fell trying to get out and the rest of the students just stepped over them.

We got out of the way. Percy was tossed aside from my mind. I was not about get run over by some mob. They cancelled the rest of classes. They needed most of the teachers in the cafeteria to sort out the brawl for those who were involved those who got caught being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Instead everyone had a huge study hall. I was thankful in a way because Art and P.E in my opinion were useless classes. I took the time during study hall to track my teachers and get the missing work. As I was strolling around the hallways I decided to take a peek into the lunchroom. All the Riptide and Backbiters were cleaning the cafeteria. So many teachers and security guards were present it looked like they were monitoring a bunch of delinquents from a detention center. In their defense the way the boys acted they were, in a way delinquents.

I was looking for Percy and I found him using the broom to try and pick up some food off the floor. He was struggling, as if he has never done it his life. I giggled a bit. He was useless. I looked around to see if I found that bitch Drew. I didn't see her. She must've gotten off lightly but in my opinion she had as much right to be in there cleaning. For boys to start fighting over her was a really dumb idea. But after all boys are dumb, usually.

I decided to not linger any longer because I felt at any second a teacher or security guard would catch me. I felt like they would tell me to go inside and clean if I was so interested in the lunchroom. I went back to study hall. Study hall went by really fast. I finished all the missed work in half the time for study hall. Both Silena and Piper needed help with their homework's so I decided to help them out. I noticed that study hall was mostly compromised of just females with a few guys, trickled here and there. Then I realized I was pretty dumb because after all most of the boys were in the cafeteria cleaning the mess they made.

"So how did it start? I doubt they began by just throwing punches" Piper looked at me. She looked kind of guilty. But why?

"Well we didn't hear the conversation that happened between Percy and Ethan. But basically Travis threw some food at one of the Backbiters. A group of them broke off and started throwing punches. Connor helped his brother out by defending his brother. Then all hell broke loose, Jason threw a punch and it began an all-out brawl." Piper looked guilty probably because she felt it was Jason's fault for starting it. She probably thought she could've stopped it. But when a bunch of males full of testosterone and egos begin going at it. It's best to get out of the way.

"It's not your fault Piper, you know how boys are when they try to act manly in front of their girlfriends." Piper and Silena laughed because partially it was true. Both Jason and Charles were very protective of them.

 _Study hall ended not shortly after that. Of course the culprits for the brawl would be heading to detention by now. The school thought that punishing them would teach both groups a lesson. They were wrong it just fueled their anger and hatred even more. Sports at Goode were about to take a dip in productivity. Cheerleaders now would have to choose sides. The whole school had to support one group either the Backbiters or Riptide. But two question still lingered. Where was Luke? What's going on with Annabeth's parents?_

 **A/N Hey this the fifth chapter for the story. I felt like it wasn't my best I was kind of in a rush to finish it because I had an important event to attend to. Either way I want you to review and show some love.**

 **Thanks**

 **-MJ**


	6. Chapter 6

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 6**

 **PERCY POV**

Everyone began cleaning the cafeteria. You would expect with a hundred guys the cleaning would be done in no time. You were wrong. Most of us didn't even know how to clean our rooms. How the fuck were we supposed to clean the cafeteria? When I grabbed the broom it felt odd. I knew you had to sweep and there was a motion for it but whenever I tried the sweeping motion I would miss some particles on the floor which irritated me greatly.

I heard Jason laughing from behind me. "Man you're hopeless. I don't want to even ask the state of your room. No doubt messy like this cafeteria right now." I was extremely annoyed.

"Shut up. I know I'm not the only one here. Why don't you have a broom? Oh right you can't sweep either you dumb ass." Jason smile grew even more. He liked to bother and further annoy me when I was irritated.

Cleaning for everyone in the room was a pain in the ass. Everyone both Riptide and Backbiter would obviously agree. Some fights and skirmishes wanted to break out. But security was tight, they didn't even let us talk with the opposite group. They already knew just looking at each other would harbor our grudges and they would no doubt start fighting with brooms. Coach Hedge came in and yelled his head off.

"You dumb asses need to think clearly. How are you planning to fucking play if you're in trouble? Even though we can all agree that you're idiots. Everyone including our fans know you're stupid but good athletes. We're the best for a reason. We can't let the fans or investors down. Understand? I expect all of you at practice after detention." Coach Hedge then stormed out. He was probably heading to his office and no doubt start flipping his whole office in anger. But usually when he was angry he binge ate. Meaning he would order a lot of food and just eat his anger away.

Jason began shaking his head. "You know what that means. Coach is going to push us even harder today. Probably more suicides, more laps around the field, and probably another set of a 100 pushups." When Jason mentioned it I already began feeling sore and we weren't at practice yet.

After that conversation Jason and I stayed silent for the whole cleaning duration. Sweeping with the broom became more natural and in no time I was a professional sweeper. I literally could sweep girls of their feet with my cleaning skills now. Most of the teachers were in the cafeteria on patrol making sure nothing happened once again. The lunch staff was let go off early. I guess a way of apologizing to them for the mess we caused. It took us till the end of school to finish cleaning up the cafeteria. Everyone was tired and no one bothered to even look or insult each other as we all headed to detention.

Surprisingly it was Coach Hedge who was supervising detention. Want my guess? It's probably because he doesn't want anyone late for practice.

"Alright cupcakes, do something. Either do your homework, sleep, or whatever it doesn't matter just be ready for practice." Everyone groaned. I was insanely tired. I was drained, I didn't know cleaning was so tiring and stressful. I decided I was going to take my nap because Hedge would not let us skip practice. Coach Hedge was on his phone watching fighting matches so he himself wouldn't be bored. I sighed and put my head down on the desk and in no time I was drooling all over my desk.

Detention only lasted an hour. Well that was according to Frank. I was too busy sleeping and drooling to tell how much time had gone. Coach Hedge yelled at us to get out and change or else whoever was late was going to be kicked off the team. Frank and I booked it and changed into our practice gear for football in record time. Jason and the Stolls left to practice at a different field for the soccer game this weekend. Jason was the captain for the soccer team so he alerted everyone and he was leaving with the soccer team. We waved goodbye then Frank and I headed to the gridiron.

Coach Hedge whistled to get everyone's attention. "Alright listen up. I know that some of you might not mesh together because you pertain to different "Social groups" but on this team we're all family. I don't care who or where you're from but the guy next to you is family. The guy next to you will help the team win understood? None of that social hierarchy bullshit on this field." Surprisingly everyone agreed. They nodded.

Honestly I didn't know if it was because everyone was tired or if everyone just resorted to just saying yes to avoid trouble. Either way it suits everyone, for now. Frank was one of the captains of the football team. There were four in total, well at least for our team. Frank Zhang, Will Solace, Me (Percy Jackson), and of course our star quarterback Beckendorf. Will was one of our friends, but he was really close with Nico. I talked to him on occasion when I saw him but to say we were close friends would've been wrong. HE was the best punter and kicker in the state of New York, he was that good. He knew how to talk. Whenever one of our teammates got injured he was the first one to comfort them, and he knew the severity of the injury before any of us did. I guess that's why he either wants to be a paramedic or a doctor. He was very smart so it wasn't out of the question.

Practice started and it was feisty but it was a good practice. Frank led the group and hyped our team up to be ready for our game against an irrelevant team in the area. Some pushing and shoving was happening. For example when Beckendorf threw a pass and he was hit pretty late. Of course it was a Backbiter who tackled him hard. Beckendorf of course went after him and shoved him to the ground.

"What the fuck are you doing? I'm wearing a non-contact jersey. Which means you can't hit or tackle me you dumb ass." Coach Hedge and the rest of the team broke the fight up pretty quickly. Like I said everyone was beginning to bad mouth each other. But it was really more competitiveness than hatred.

I was the running back for the team. I was alright, I wouldn't say I was great. But today I took a beating. They tackled me hard and I knew that I was bruised all over my body. On a particular play I was handed the ball and I was tackled immediately. The big linemen landed on me and my elbow flexed in an odd way. It hurt a lot but I could bear with the pain. Nobody knew except me. Thankfully that was the last play of practice and Coach Hedge told us to hit the showers. I let everyone go into the locker room because they would notice immediately that I was semi-injured.

So I went into the school with my practice gear still on. I sat on of the benches in the hallway near the gym. I was holding my arm protectively because if I let it dropped the pain would become unbearable. I noticed the cheerleaders were finishing practice. They came out of the gym and were in their groups talking. Drew and her clueless followers went one direction and Silena, Piper, Annabeth and the rest of the cheerleaders were heading my way. Silena was the one who decided to talk.

"What happened to you Percy? Why aren't you changing?" She gave her usual motherly concerned look.

"Nothing, I'm just taking a breather in here. The guys are stinking up the locker room. I'll change later after they leave." All the cheerleaders laughed at my remark. I was lying, but partially. The truth was that the guys did stink up the locker room it was honestly unbearable sometimes.

"You don't smell so good yourself. You look dirty with all those grass and dirt stains on your gear." Silena said. I just shook my head. Then gave my signature smile when I didn't have any word to say.

"Alright we'll see you later Perce. Remember Jason has a game this weekend. It's mandatory you go." Piper said as she waved her hand as she was leaving.

All the cheerleaders left. Except one. There she was the beautiful, determined, and worried looking Annabeth. She read right through me. She knew I was injured. Her usual stormy and harsh gray eyes were softer.

"Percy you can't bluff me. I know you're injured. I'm guessing it's your arm because you're holding it protectively." Fuck, sometimes I forget how smart and perceptive she is.

"I'm fine, it's just bruised. Go, you need to get home. It's getting dark." She immediately shook her head.

"Not yet Seaweed Brain let me make sure you're okay first." I must have given her a confused look because she laughed and elaborated.

"You act so dumb sometimes. I think it's because it's from all the grass you eat from the football field." I just nodded. It made sense and I liked the nickname.

She was going inside her duffle bag looking for something. She pulled out a roll of elastic bandages. She began wrapping my injured arm. I started to grimace from the pain. It was sharp when she moved my arm to wrap it with the elastic bandages. It would then turn into a dull pain after the arm was let go of.

"Don't beat yourself up Percy. I know you're competitive and love sports. But in order to play you need to be in one piece." She looked at me straight in the eyes. I was lost in them. I was enraptured in the complexity of her grey eyes. Her eyes looked like it was trying to interpret and gather information and force it out of me. I was enamored with them.

She coughed. "Anyways Percy I have to go. Please take my advice." She kissed my injured arm with the bandage for good luck. I started to blush, I just hoped she couldn't tell. Before she left I grabbed her hand.

"Are you going to the soccer game?" She gave me a smirk and just nodded. She didn't need to use words, she had me. She was walking to the front door exit. All I could do was sit and stare at her. She was, she was perfect. She was a Wise Girl.

I don't know how long I sat down on the bench dumbfounded. But I headed to the locker room through the main gym doors. Everyone had cleared out and only my stuff remained. I struggled to take of my pads and my back plate which was my protection from vicious hits. Taking off the shoulder pads was the most problematic. Getting of the shoulder pads off with an injured elbow is painful. I had to lift my sprained elbow to get the shoulder pads over my head. I felt the ligament from my elbow stretch. I thought maybe it was torn which was the most serious sprain you could get. I pushed that all aside, I couldn't let a simple sprain get in the way of my sports season. These were my thoughts as I packed my gear into my duffel bag and headed home to heal my injuries from practice.

 **ANNABETH POV**

After study hall was completed the girls and I went to go change into our practice clothes to get ready for cheerleading practice. Drew and her stupid followers were present for practice as well. This time she was silent. Good for all of us. My initial thought was that Riptide shut her boyfriend Ethan up that's why she wasn't her usual boisterous and bitchy shelf. Practice was awful, everyone was messing up including myself. None of us were concentrating on the moves, our minds were elsewhere. My mind was on the lunchroom brawl.

When I saw Percy fighting with another Backbiter a surge of protectiveness surged through me. I didn't want Percy to get hurt, but deep down I knew that he was going to be okay. Silena ended practice early because she realized none of us were focused on the moves. She looked pretty upset but she hid it well. Drew and her posse left without causing a commotion which was a first. They went through the side exit which led directly to the high school's parking lot. Silena and the rest of us headed to the front doors for the exit. While walking for the front exit I saw him.

There he was Percy Jackson. I could tell from afar he was daydreaming or thinking about something. He then noticed us walking in his direction and he straightened up. Silena had a small conversation with him. To be completely honest I wasn't even paying attention of what the conversation was about. The conversation ended very quickly and Silena was heading through the front doors. I decided to stay back and told Piper that I would walk home today and that I would see her later. He watched as most of the cheerleaders left. But the way he looked at them was with an emotion of apathy. As soon as his eyes were on me my body temperature rose a few degrees. I felt like I was burning. I saw his eyes light up with excitement.

I was the first one to talk. I told him that he couldn't lie to me and that I could basically read him. I've only known Percy for a little while. But I feel like I know his tendencies pretty well. I patched him up pretty quickly. Then we sat there and stared at each other's eyes. Sea green on gray. I saw something desperate and wanting in his eyes. But that couldn't possibly be me, can it? I took his appearance in. He was smelly from practice but it didn't bother me that much. He had some dirt on his face but that didn't take away how handsome he was. The way his hair was plastered on his face from his sweat made him look ten times more handsome. The way he smiled could knock any female off their feet, including me. He looked natural in his shoulder pads and practice uniform. Almost like a knight in his shining armor if you had an imagination. Everything was genuine about Percy, from his looks to his personality.

I am kind of obsessed with him but not in the creepy way. More in the realm of a really huge crush. We were so close, inches apart. All he had to do was lean in, I wanted him too. But that's when I stopped and regained my composure. I hadn't noticed how silent it was with no conversation ongoing. So I decided to say my goodbye and head home. But before I could walk away he grabbed my hand. A shock was sent through my whole body as if he was the one who powered my body. The way he smiled as he asked if I was going to the soccer game made me want to run away from embarrassment. I realized I couldn't speak or I would fall apart. I would speak incoherently. So I just used hand motions and shook my head to answer his questions. I walked away. Simple as that. I was walking for the exit and I made It outside.

I was walking home to my house which was about a ten minute walk from Goode High. I was taking in the surrounding environment. I haven't really walked home, this was my first time. I usually took the bus or Silena would give me a ride. Surrounding me was the typical neighborhood with children playing in their yards and parents playing with their kids. That hit close to home. I've never had a stable family. It was always constantly arguing between my parents. I wished more than anything that I could have a normal and happy family. But I wasn't blessed with that luxury. My relationship with my parents was neutral since I barely spoke to them and we never spoke about my problems. It was always about them. That may be another reason why I've never been in a relationship as well. I could never introduce my boyfriend to them. Show them how unstable my household is isn't exactly a way to maintain a relationship. That's why I was so independent.

All these thoughts were going through my mind I didn't notice I was already on the street my house was on. I could see from the distance that my dad's minivan was already at the house. But my stepmom's car wasn't. That was very strange she was the first one to get off work. I rushed to my house and opened the door. I could smell carry-out food from the doorway. Another strange occurrence, my stepmom always cooked we barely ate from outside food places.

"Hey dad I'm home. Where are you?" I could hear kitchenware being placed on the dining table.

"In the dining room honey." I walked in and saw a rare sight. My dad was preparing the table for dinner.

"What are you doing and where's mom?" He looked at me. There it was again a deep sadness and pity in his eyes.

"The therapist said that it was best for us to be away from each other for some time. Your mom and I agreed that we would try it out." He had pain look. Like as if there was more that he wasn't telling me.

"So mom's staying somewhere else till you guys figure it out with your issues" He just nodded. I could tell he wasn't even paying attention to my question.

"Sit down Annabeth, we have to eat." I nodded. I grabbed a plate. My dad pulled out what he ordered from the carryout food place. He put each item out so I could choose what I wanted and put it onto my plate.

We ate dinner in silence. I didn't dare try to start a conversation. It was awkward enough, but I felt that at any moment he would break down and curl himself into a ball. I never saw my father like this in my lifetime. Something was definitely wrong. The food was good but I only ate a little. I tended to stray away from fast food places because I wanted to stay in shape and eat healthy. I picked up my plate and the silverware I used and washed them into the sink. I walked back into the dining room and told my dad that I was going up to my bedroom to do my homework. He just waved me away and I was pretty sure he didn't even listen to what I said. I decided just to leave him be and head upstairs.

I started my homework which was all easy. I was done within the hour. Math was just basic geometry, finding the surface area and volume for 3D shapes. English was some questions about Macbeth. That was pretty easy because I've read Macbeth a few time already. Biology was just to read a chapter in the book and answer the review questions at the end. Since I was done with my homework I decided to straighten my room up a little. I'm not a messy person but I like my room very neat. I fixed and dusted my bookshelves from accumulating dust. I cleared my computer desk with unnecessary cluttered papers. Arranged my shoes by color and brand so I wouldn't have to look around crazily for a certain pair of shoes. That was just the short list of the many things I did. At the end of me organizing my room I felt very exhausted. It wasn't late either so I didn't want to sleep too early or it would mess up my sleeping schedule.

So I decided to do a little lurking on social media. I went on my phone and looked up Percy's Instagram. I'm not a stalker, it's for research purposes. I inserted "percyjackson" into the search tab but nothing popped up. I found it very odd. He was well known around school. He obviously had to have social media. So I decided to try a different tactic. I followed Piper and Silena on Instagram so I looked at who they followed. It took some time (since Piper followed so many people on IG) but I found his Instagram. Oddly enough his username was "sonofposeidon". Now I knew that Poseidon is the sea god in Greek mythology, but why that name? Anyway I dropped the issue with his name and looked at his profile. He had two thousand followers and followed only a few hundred people. He had a lot of followers in my opinion. I checked my own profile "annabethc" and I only had 800 followers, which was not as many as Percy had. I kind of felt self-conscious. What if he doesn't think of I'm popular enough to date him? Or I wasn't high enough in the social hierarchy to be even considered an option to date.

I looked through the pictures he uploaded. He was so cute and handsome in all of them. Percy had pictures with the sports team, by himself, and with his mom which I found very adorable. But one picture caught my eye the most. It was a picture of him fishing at a lake and he was shirtless. He was wearing khaki shorts with a brown leather belt and blue crocs. In his hand was his fishing rod. I noticed how muscular he was, but not overly muscular. You could see his well-defined 6pack, his perfectly toned arms, and his well-toned chest. But that wasn't really what got my attention. His smile was the best thing about the picture, he looked so happy and the smile was genuine. That smile belonged on TV it was so beautiful. Similar to the smile he gave to me earlier today. As I kept scrolling through his pictures I noticed this particular picture had more likes than the other pictures on his profile. While his other pictures averaged about 900-1,000 likes, the shirtless picture had 1,500 likes. I looked through the comments and it was mostly of females commenting heart emoji's on his pictures. I scoffed, bunch of thirsty females that only care about his body. I pushed down my irritation and scrolled through more pictures. I went through every picture to get an idea of what he liked to do. He seemed to like fishing, go camping, hangout with friends, and play sports. Typical jock, I thought to myself.

As I was scrolling back to the top of his profile I committed a fatal mistake. I accidentally hit the follow button. I hit my face with my hand as I realized what I did. He's going to think I'm stalking him. Fuck, what did I just do? I decided to just forget about it. He probably has dozens of new followers each day and he won't follow me back anyways. I laid back into my bed overthinking what I did. But I decided it wasn't worth it to stress about. After all I was a part of Riptide it wasn't anything weird. From all the lurking through Percy's social media I didn't realize how much time had passed. It was about the usual time I fell asleep. So I decided to fall asleep and keep up with my sleeping schedule. It didn't take long for me to go into a deep slumber.

 **PERCY POV**

I was doing my homework during the night when I receive a notification on my phone. _Beep. New Follower annabethc._ __I noticed that I had a new follower on Instagram. It was Annabeth. I immediately got on my phone and checked her profile to make sure it was her. It was her indeed. I could tell from the small picture icon on her profile. She had 800 followers and her profile was private. Which I didn't get. She was such a beautiful, smart, and chill girl how could she not have more. I immediately sent a follow request back. I put down my phone and then decided to continue my homework. But this time I continued my homework with a smile on my face…

 _A new relationship is forming. But will both Annabeth and Percy come out and tell their true feelings for one another? Or will Percy continue to push every female into the friend zone because he's afraid of a relationship? Yancy and Goode have some serious history that is always reinforced with their bitter rivalry. Things could get ugly if either Goode or Yancy wins the soccer game that's coming up._

 **A/N Hey fellow readers how's it going. This is the 6** **th** **chapter for Trouble at Goode and it's still been a blast writing these for you. Once again show some love and review of what you think.**

 **P.S. I decided to focus a little more on Percabeth this chapter because I kind of strayed away from that the previous chapters.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 7**

 **PERCY POV**

It was Saturday morning and I woke up really late. When I checked the alarm clock on my nightstand it was 11:30 A.M. I groaned in my bed. Jason's soccer game wasn't going start till 8:00 P.M. Which meant I could keep sleeping. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't keep my eyes closed. The tiredness and sleep had left my body. I sat up in my bed. I looked around my room and realized that it was still a mess from yesterday night. While I was doing my homework I got very frustrated with my math homework because I didn't understand how to solve the problems. I kind of had a break from homework, which may or may not have included me throwing things around my room.

I went into the bathroom and turned the water on in the sink. While the water was running I just looked at myself in the mirror. I noticed how my hair was insanely messy from my sleep. I had some drool marks on both ends of my mouth. I was self-conscious about my hair being messy and no matter how hard I tried to brush it, it stayed in its messy state. Eventually I stopped caring and decided against putting any work into my hair. Now the drooling I had no problem with, it was normal I guess. I knew some females would think it was gross but that's why I was single. I felt like I was high maintenance and could barely take care of myself. I laughed as I imagined myself with a girlfriend, it would be chaos. She would have to deal with my habits and no doubt before the first month, we would be trying to kill each other.

I decided to stop thinking about that considering I haven't been in a relationship before. So it's best to leave those thoughts out of my mind. I cuffed my hands and filled it with cold water and I splashed it into my face. The cold water was refreshing. The water washed away all my impurities and thoughts away. I took a quick shower and was out of the bathroom in no time. Since Jason and the rest of the soccer team was no doubt practicing or hanging out before the game, I decided to hang out with Frank. I texted Frank if he wanted to hangout and he hurriedly replied and said yes. I knew Frank would say yes to anything, just to get out of his house. Grandma Zhang after all, was kind of crazy about doing anything remotely fun in her house.

I decided to meet up at his house. I walked slowly to his house still wary of taking the alleyway, where I was jumped not too long ago. Still I used the alleyway and my heart raced the whole walk through it. Finally I got to the other side of the alleyway and zoomed my way to Frank's house. I knocked on his door and he answered immediately.

"Waiting for me, I see" I teased with a smile. I loved to tease Frank he was always a good sport about it and didn't take it seriously.

"Haha Percy very funny. You know I want to get out of this house as much as I can." Frank said as he quickly closed the door.

"Well I'm hungry Frank. Let's eat at a waffle place please." Frank nodded. Frank always ate out during the weekend because he always ate at his house during the weekdays. He could eat as he pleased without his Grandma constantly scolding him about eating unhealthy.

"After that we can go buy a poster and some markers at an office store or something. We need to make posters to support the fellow bro Jason." Frank smiled. We knew that we would put silly and funny stuff on the posters to troll Jason.

We went to a waffle place near his house and ordered a huge breakfast for the both of us. Frank had to stray away from anything that had dairy in it because he was lactose intolerant. We ordered the same breakfast every time we came to this place. The waitress that was serving us couldn't stop smiling at the both of us. She had a playful look in her eyes, she was definitely very flirtatious always making an excuse when she "accidentally" brushed up against us. It happened to us all the time when Frank and I went out and it was also a common occurrence in school where females would "accidentally" brush or had physical contact with us. We brushed it off because we didn't take things like that seriously. On the plus side, Frank was with Hazel and he was very happy with her.

That brought thoughts in my mind of how my friends had a significant other. Of course they were happy with each other. While I was always a loner and just continued on with my life. Beckendorf had Silena who was a very nice and definitely a beautiful girl. Jason had Piper who was pretty as well. But she also was like a sister to me and we understood each other. Frank had Hazel who were perfect compliments for each other. She was amazing and attractive. Then there was me. Not to say I wasn't happy, I was. But I felt like I was missing something in my life. I was zoned out until Frank broke me out of it.

"Percy are you okay? You were smiling a second ago and now you have a serious look on your face." I loved Frank. He was always worried about me. He was definitely one of my best friends.

"Uh yeah. I was just remembering that we have to deal with those obnoxious Yancy students in a few hours. I hope it doesn't get as ugly as last time. It was a shouting match remember. Competitiveness and egos can get really ugly." Frank had a reminiscent look on his face. As if just remembering how ugly the rivalry between Yancy and Goode could get.

 _PERCY FLASHBACK_

 _Yancy and Goode's rivalry has been present throughout the founding of both schools. People around New York choose a side of which high school to root for. Goode who was known for its football, basketball, swimming, and soccer programs. Yancy was known for being rich and snobby but also for their, soccer, cross country, track, golf, and football programs. Goode's athletes were known as the best in New York only rivaled by, you guessed it Yancy Academy. They were a copycat of Goode in my opinion. The programs are ran in a similar manner like Goode's. The school colors are a knockoff of Goode's school colors. While Goode was the purple and orange, their school colors are the purple and gold. They stole purple from us._

 _There was a rumor that Goode and Yancy are bitter rivals because each school claims they are the best and the power school of New York. Of course each school claims they are knockoff of one another. But in fairness Goode was founded first, hence they are the original and the power school of New York. But that's ancient history, the rivalry that happens now gets pretty ugly._

 _My freshman year at Goode, we played Yancy in soccer. Jason was on the team but since he was only a freshman he was on the bench. Goode's soccer team lost in a brutal fashion. There was no sportsmanship. Rather, after the game they would disrespect our soccer team's field by openly pissing on our logo and yelling insults at our players. The athletes that were on the field began to push each other around. Then fist began flying and both school students joined in the fight. It was bad. By the end of the brutal brawl (that happened my freshman year) a lot of students were gravely injured. Either they were trampled by the mobs of students or were beat up pretty badly. Jason was in the brawl and was injured badly. Someone apparently grabbed a rock that was laying around and launched into the crowd. Jason was the unlucky individual and got hit in the head. He was knocked unconscious immediately. Miraculously he wasn't trampled by the mob of students and his head injury wasn't serious. My sophomore year everything was under control. Both principals (Mr. D and Mr. B) from Goode and Yancy decided to hire security and stand between the field and the students. They also agreed (for once) that the violence wasn't good for their reputation and also that someone could potentially get hurt. It is better that way, parents were very worried for their kids. Obscenities and insults were still present at games but no further brawls broke out._

I was broken out of my flashback when the food came to our table. Our food came and we ate everything that was on our plate, we were very hungry. We quickly payed our tab then headed to a local office store to pick up our blank posters and new markers. We walked through the aisles looking for the arts section. It's always in the back of the store, almost like an afterthought and neglected section of the store. Of course I chose the only blue poster left and a black marker to write on the poster. Frank got an orange poster and a black marker as well. We stood in line and waited till we got to a counter to pay our items. The cashier quickly ringed us up and we paid.

We went to Frank's house so he could get his spare clothes to change into so he didn't have to go back and change. The plan for the day was to head to my apartment and hangout then work on our posters and basically wait till 9:00 P.M for the soccer game. We also had to be mentally prepared and disciplined not to cause commotions with students from Yancy. If either schools were losing. The opposition would get butt hurt and start shoving and throwing things at each other. I don't deal with that nonsense, if they throw something at me I'm going after them. It hasn't happened yet but since the season opener is against Yancy, everything's at stake. Especially bragging rights for the team who wins. The bragging rights will last all season long.

Frank and I were walking home when I recognized the person coming out of a liquor shop. I immediately recognized his sandy hair and blue eyes. It was Luke. He looked like shit. I noticed I haven't seen him around school for a few days. Luke looked like he was hungover, which was reinforced when he pulled out a bottle of alcohol. This was it. No other Backbiters were around to save his ass. Luke didn't even notice I was a few feet away. I looked at Frank and he shook his head.

"Percy, he's drunk right now. It isn't right to beat him up when he doesn't see it coming." Frank had a point. So I went straight for him.

"Luke what the fuck are you doing?" I asked as I knocked the bottle of alcohol out of his hand.

"Jackson you punk. I was going to drink that." He swung his fist. I didn't expect it. But he connected and it hurt a lot. I decided not to count that against him. He was drunk after all.

"No Luke you were not. Look I don't really give a shit what you do. But you can't be drinking when you're doing sports. Now go get sober you dumb ass. You got a few hours till the soccer game." I pushed him away from the liquor store. He stumbled, but didn't fall. His eyes were full of hatred but he gave in and went the other direction, hopefully home to sober up. I didn't walk away till he was out of sight.

Frank patted me on the back. "You showed some serious restraint Perce. I thought after he punched you, you would've just snapped and set him in his place."

"I was angry when Luke punched me but he was drunk, so I knew I couldn't hold it against him. On the plus side it wouldn't feel as great if I knocked his ass out if he wasn't 100%" Frank laughed and we walked our way back to the apartment.

Frank broke the silence. "I knew Luke did drugs and alcohol, but I didn't know it was this bad. How does he walk into a liquor store and come out with alcohol so easily?"

Ugh I hated talking about Luke. I hated just thinking about him. He was such an asshole. "Frank there are things called fake IDs. If you haven't noticed either, Luke looks like a grown ass man. He looks old, like he's stayed back a few years." I wasn't exaggerating. Luke looked like he was in his mid-twenties but he apparently was just a senior at Goode.

"Anyways Frank let's not talk about my arch-enemy please. Dude is an asshole and isn't worth a conversation" Frank just nodded. He knew I hated talking about Luke. Luke and I had ancient history, he betrayed me. I haven't told anyone yet what that history was. While I trust all my friends I just couldn't tell them what the betrayal was.

My mood was kind of ruined with that encounter with Luke. I acted nice to him and I hope he doesn't think of it as a sign of weakness. I couldn't deal with that honestly. I had to push these dumb thoughts from my mind. I had to stay positive and hype for Jason's soccer game. I checked my phone for the time and it was 3:00 P.M. Time flew by fast. Walking to each location we had to go to, took most of the time. I should really get my license soon I thought to myself.

We finally got to my apartment. It wasn't far but the walk felt extremely long for some reason. It was as if Luke controlled time. Just to hassle me for throwing his shit away. Frank and I sat on the couch and watched TV. For some reason my eyes felt droopy and I fell asleep.

"PERCY! PERCY! Wake up." I opened my eyes and it was Frank shaking me awake.

"What's going on? What time is it?" I realized that I could've slept the whole day and missed the game. Jason would've been really pissed if I did.

"Calm down Percy. The game starts in an hour. But we have to work on the posters fast." I checked my phone and realized it was 7:55 P.M. I noticed Jason had texted me a few times. "Percy don't be late." "Why aren't you responding?" "If you don't respond I will break your door down and kick your ass." I laughed at the last one. I texted him back not to worry and that I wasn't going to be late.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier, Frank? What did you do while I was asleep?" Frank passed me my blue poster and the black marker.

"Well I tried to wake you up many times but you just wouldn't wake up. So I let you sleep. Your mom made us lunch but she said she was going out on a date so she would see you later. As for what I did? I binged watched an obstacle course show. It was intense, I loved it." I'm surprised Frank didn't just get up and leave the apartment.

"Well I'm not hungry right now. I'll save my mom's lunch for tomorrow. We'll probably eat out today after the game anyway. So I'll save my stomach. Yancy is ten miles away, we need a ride. You text anyone?" Frank was still working on his poster and he wouldn't let me see it. I tried to sneak a peek but he pushed me away.

"No. I asked Hazel if she knew if someone could give us a ride. But she is going with her friends from her class. I told her don't worry that I'd find a ride. But I haven't." Frank shook his head as if just realizing we have limited amount time to find a ride.

"Ugh that means I have to find the ride Frank. I know who to ask." I took out my phone and gave Silena a call.

"Hey Silena, it's me Percy. I was wondering if you could give me and Frank a ride to the soccer game." Silena sighed. I thought she was going to scold me for being irresponsible like she usually does to Beckendorf.

"You're lucky Percy. Beckendorf got a ride from one of his friends from the basketball team. Or else we couldn't have given you guys a ride." I wasn't good at math. If Beckendorf did go, we would still fit. I didn't ask I was just glad I found a ride.

"Thanks Silena you're the best." I quickly hung up and told Frank we should hurry up with our posters. I grabbed my marker and drew some lightning bolts on my poster. I put "Will you marry me Jason Grace?" I also put the cliché "I Heart Jason Grace" I began laughing. Jason no doubt would be somewhat annoyed at our immaturity. Frank's poster was similar but different at the same time. Frank drew an eagle on his poster, included the words "#1 Fan" and "Blow a kiss to me Jason". All in all he was no doubt going to take a run at us at the end of the game for being silly.

We rolled up our posters and decided to get ready for the game. Frank went to go change into his Goode school gear while I did the same. I went into my room and put on a Goode long sleeve shirt. It wasn't supposed to be too cold tonight and wearing my varsity jacket was going to be a hassle and I didn't want to sweat unnecessarily. My Goode long sleeve shirt was fully orange and the letters "GH" on the left side of my chest was purple. My last name "Jackson" was also printed in the color purple on the back of my shirt. You could choose which color was more prominent in your shirts only. For example Frank liked the color purple more so his Goode school shirts were fully purple while the letters "GH" were the color orange on the left side of his chest. Like my Goode school shirts his last name was imprinted on the back of his shirt but his instead of being purple his last name was orange instead. However the last name on your school gear was reserved for athletes only. So the rest of the school population who purchased school gear didn't have the chance to personalize their gear. Anyways, enough of the school bull shit I thought to myself I need to get ready fast.

I finished getting ready. To summarize my outfit, I was wearing my Goode long sleeve t shirt with black Nike training pants, and my all white athletic shoes. Pretty basic attire for a sporting event I guess. Frank and I were basically matching. Which in my opinion was awesome. Only difference between us was the height and the color of our shirts.

"You ready Frank? We have to support Jason every time he makes a save. Get our crowd into it." Frank nodded. Now we just sat down on the couch awaiting Silena's phone call. It took a few minutes but she finally called and told us she was waiting outside the front apartment.

She rolled down her window. "Hurry up Perce, we have to pick up Annabeth." Frank quickly got into the car and sat down. I on the other hand stopped when I heard Annabeth's name. A weird feeling was stirring in my stomach. Piper yelled at me to get in and I did. We drove about a mile from my apartment and in no time we were at the apparent home of Annabeth Chase.

When she came out she looked stunning. Her blonde curly locks were mesmerizing. The way they moved up and down, side to side on her shoulders made them look amazing. Her grey eyes were focused and had a twinkle from the moonlight. She was wearing her cheerleading uniform which was of course purple and orange. The uniform fit her exceptionally well. The fabric of the uniform hugged her curves perfectly. I guess I was so shocked the girls from the front began laughing.

"Close your mouth Percy. Don't make it to obvious." Piper said as she busted out laughing.

"Not funny Piper. I'm just not used to seeing her wear her cheerleading uniform." I said as I closed my mouth.

Frank shifted his seat and went over me to sit on the side which left me in the middle seat. Annabeth opened the door. When she saw me she had a face of shock, but it was quickly masked with an apathetic look. She got in the car and sat beside me. Frank just elbowed my ribs which kind of hurt. I turned to look at him and he winked at me. What a jerk I thought as I hit him in his abdomen. Of course it didn't faze him instead he gave me an annoying smile. I decided to ignore him and the girls because I knew Piper and Silena were secretly giving me hand signals to make a move on Annabeth. I decided to focus straight ahead and zone out. It was extremely hard though. I couldn't stop myself from stealing glances at Annabeth the whole car ride to Yancy. She caught me a lot of times, but I acted like I was just looking out the window. The car ride was long in my opinion but we finally got to the dreaded rich and snobby school.

We always left early to make sure we found good seats. Also for the cheerleaders to be on time so they can do a practice run of their moves, while they cheer for our team. Silena, Piper, and Annabeth headed their separate way. Frank and I went to look for seats and found good ones. We were on the second row on the bleachers which was very close to the bench. Yancy's side of fans was already packed and buzzing. They stared at our side with daggers and full of utter hatred for our school. Our side of the bleachers was only half full. Some more students from Goode trickled in but the seats weren't at full capacity yet. I saved seats for Nico, Will, Beckendorf, Grover, Juniper, and Rachel. I knew that Rachel wasn't coming. For some odd reason she only came to my games and swim meets and no one else's. I found that very selfish of her so I decided to push her out of my mind. The game was about to start in half an hour.

Outside the stadium were rows upon rows of food stands. Up and ready to sell your dietary needs. I decided to buy some bottles of water and went to the concession stands. The line was pretty long but I came back just in time before the teams headed to the field. By the time I got to the bleachers I noticed our side was now full. Everyone was representing Goode with their school gear. I appreciated that from everyone. I got to my seat and noticed most of my friends were already there. I handed them the bottles of water and took my place between Frank and Nico. I said hey to all of them and waited for the teams to come out.

Goode came out first and our side of the field was roaring with approval. I put up my poster and so did Frank. The rest of my friends looked at us then shook their heads not believing our immaturity. Jason came out last because he was the captain of the team. Then the snobby rich kids came out. Their side was booming loud which hurt my ears. When all the cheering died down the announcer announced the starting lineups. Since Goode was the away team they wore their away kit which was the all-purple kit. Yancy was the home team which meant they wore their all gold soccer kit.

The teams gave each other grudging handshakes and then posed for the team pictures. It was all set and done. The team got ready and into positon. It was Travis Stoll awaiting the whistle to commence the kickoff. The whistle blew and Travis passed it back to one of his teammates…

 _The soccer game has commenced. Even before the game started both schools were staring at each other with hatred. What if Goode or Yancy win? Will something break out? Or will the best outcome be a tie in which both teams won't be happy but won't be angry either. One thing is known, the referee and security have to maintain everything in control. Will Percy man up and tell his feeling for Annabeth or will he continue to just think about her. What are Annabeth's true feelings for Percy? Some will be revealed in the next chapter of Trouble at Goode so stay tuned._

 **A/N Hey guys this is the seventh chapter of Trouble at Goode. Sorry in advance for not updating like I did last week. But the spaced out updates will continue. I start work soon which will impede me from updating frequently but I will finish this story. I will try to update weekly but there are no promises. Review and tell me what you think of the chapter.**

 **Thanks**

 **-MJ**


	8. Chapter 8

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 8**

 **ANNABETH POV**

The cheerleading squad and I practiced long and hard up until the soccer game. We stayed later than usual to make sure we knew the moves, that we were coordinated, and that no one was totally lost. Silena was stressed throughout the whole ordeal. She was cranky some days and would tell off a poor soul who wasn't doing it right. That gave me extra motivation to not get publicly yelled at by Silena. It wasn't a pretty sight. After practice we did the usual, which was go out and eat at the local diner with Silena and Piper. We spoke about general school things and our social lives. Or the lack thereof. I explained to Silena and Piper that I really didn't have a social life outside of school. Once school was over I usually went home straight after.

"You seriously need to get a boyfriend. That would give you some fun into your life." Silena said as she began matchmaking me with random guys, I had no idea existed.

"No, no, no. A boy is not the solution for my lack of social life. Guys don't have to present for my social life to be fun. Anyways in reality it's just that most guys don't understand half the things I tell them. I swear all boys are silly and pretty stupid." Both Piper and Silena started laughing.

"Well duh. That's what makes them cute. Most of them have no idea what's even going on around them. So far Jason and Beckendorf are the exceptions. They actually pay attention attentively to what we have to say, instead of focusing on our assets." Piper had those dreamy eyes as she further spoke about Jason. She had a serious infatuation with him. Total fangirl.

"Yea, you girls are right. You probably took the only two guys that are even worthy at Goode. I congratulate you guys, I guess?" Piper began shaking her head.

"Annabeth you'll find someone. Anyways I can tell you aren't in any rush to find a guy. You are independent after all. You probably don't need a man. Plus you still have Percy to look forward to." I blushed slightly. My face felt hot. Piper gave me a wink which made me blush even more. They were teasing me. Of course Percy was an alright guy. But did they know that maybe I had a small crush on him?

"Shut up Piper I don't like him that way. Plus we just became friends." Even I didn't believe myself when I said I didn't like Percy. It was total bullshit.

That was the last time Piper, Silena and I had dinner for that week leading up to the game. The game was being hyped up. You could see cars and various commuters around the area were either representing Goode or Yancy with the school apparel or school flags. Even people who most likely didn't even know anything about sports or either high school, were wearing Yancy or Goode apparel. Which I found ironic, because I bet seventy five percent of them don't even know where either school is located. I digress the school rivalry was known throughout everywhere. Even the media were broadcasting it on the news and for everyone to attend the first rivalry game. Which of course was the soccer (or football) game.

Even I was beginning to think it was going to be a sight to see. Especially if Goode wins. No doubt everyone will go ballistic like animals and savages. But it will be well warranted because it meant our school team won. I was thinking this on Friday night, the day before the game.

Thankfully the teachers didn't bother assigning homework because they knew that most of the student population would act as if there wasn't homework assigned in the first place. I looked at my Goode cheerleading uniform that I hung on coat hanger in my closet. I ironed it when I got home from school because I wanted to look good for my debut as a cheerleader. I was going to be under pressure. Not only from fellow students from my school but also, I had to perform better than the other cheerleaders from Yancy. I kept thinking about the soccer game (football for those that hate it because I call it soccer) and realized that it was the first time I was going to be in the bright lights. But I had to stay calm and collected so I decided to distract myself from the pressure.

I decided to browse my phone that was lying next to me and decided to browse Instagram. It wasn't much better. A lot of students from Goode had already posted an early pre-game (the game wasn't until tomorrow) "ritual" as they called it. I noticed from one student it meant drinking as much alcohol till he passed out. That's dangerous I thought to myself. Piper had posted a picture with Jason in their school gear. She was giving Jason a kiss on the cheek and was wishing the soccer team good luck. Basically all my feed or uploads from people I follow was just supporting Goode. Ugh I thought to myself I won't be able get this out of my mind. So I just decided to turn off the lights and got into bed. It took a while but I fell asleep.

When I woke up it was early in the morning. I checked the clock and realized I had only slept a few hours. I decided that I would just clean my room up until the inevitable soccer game came. I went downstairs to get some cleaning supplies from the closet and grabbed the broom. I noticed my dad was in the living room sitting down. When I went to check on him I realized he was asleep sitting down. The stench he was emitting was no doubt alcohol. That was very out of the ordinary, my dad didn't drink heavily. This was the first time I've seen him like that.

"Hey dad. What are you doing?" He opened his eyes and I realized they were bloodshot red. It startled me. He was definitely drunk. He muttered some incoherent words then slumped into the couch and then began to snore. I decided to head into his room and grab a blanket. I went back to the living room and placed the blanket over him. Deep down, the fact that he had to resort to get drunk made me angry. What was his deal? Does he think alcohol is going to fix his problems? Just the thought of that made me angrier. I decided to head up to my room because if I decided to stay any longer I would've beaten him with the broom that I was going to clean with.

I shut and locked my door and then started cleaning. Cleaning my room was something I did every week so I could keep my room clean, nice, and tidy. I cleared my desk of papers and dust that was beginning to accumulate on it. I dusted my laptop that I hadn't turned on in a while. Next was my bed. I decided to change the bedsheets and blankets so bacteria wouldn't build up on my bed. Sweeping the floor was easy as I didn't eat in my room and the only things that I swept was dust and some pieces of paper. All in all cleaning my room took about two hours. I don't want to further bore you with the details.

After cleaning my room I headed to the kitchen. I grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat in the dining room. Even from the kitchen I could hear my dad snoring loudly. I decided to ignore his snoring and tune out the sound. So I grabbed my headphones and began to listen to some music. I ate my cereal while listening to my tunes. I was most likely singing horribly the lyrics from my favorite songs on my phone. The cereal was eaten pretty quickly so I washed my bowled and decided to head into my room. I grabbed my book and read away.

 _ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

 _BEEP_ My phone beeped that I had gotten a text message. When I checked the phone I realized the time was nearing the time for the game. Of course the text message was from Silena to get my ass ready that she was going to pick me up in a few minutes. I quickly got into the shower and took a refreshing, yet brief shower. I quickly put on my cheerleading uniform. But I was internally battling myself, if I should do my hair in the cliché cheerleader ponytail or if I should just leave my hair down. I decided I didn't want to waste time so I decided to leave my hair down. I grabbed my duffel bag with extra clothes to change into. The plan after the game (no matter the outcome of the game) was to go celebrate with the team anywhere they chose. I made sure to put my small purse inside with money because no doubt everyone would ask for separate checks depending on where we went.

Everything was prepared and all I had to do was wait for Silena and Piper. Of course Jason would already be there with the soccer team, plus he's the captain. Beckendorf was supposedly getting a ride from some of his friends. So the plan was just Piper, Silena and I for the moderate ride to Yancy. Boy was I wrong. I got a text from Silena that she was outside. I quickly got my bag and headed on my way to the front door. I passed by the living room and checked in on my dad and realized he wasn't on the couch anymore. He was definitely not in his room considering it was right next to mine. I decided I would worry about it later. He probably went to eat out or sober up. I decided I would have a chat with him either when I came back or in the morning. I made sure to turn off all the lights then proceeded out the door.

To my surprise I realized when I opened the door that Silena and Piper were not alone in the car. In the backseats was Percy and Frank. I was shocked to see them their but quickly hid it with an "I don't give shit look". I can't let Percy know that I was fazed. I greeted Piper and Silena and sat next to Percy who was in the middle. I got into the car and closed the door and we were off.

I couldn't help but taking in the fact that Percy would keep looking in my direction. My heart would quicken when he looked in my direction. But I soon realized it was that he was looking out the window taking in the scenery. Yes I was bummed out. But at the same time I didn't know Percy to well so it wasn't a complete bust. He was wearing casual attire with just his Goode long sleeve and some athletic pants. Percy was looking fashionable enough but there was definitely an awkward tension in the air. Neither Silena nor Piper decided to start up a conversation and they knew how to talk. Either way I decided to just pay attention ahead of me till we got to Yancy.

When we arrived at the academy we went our separate ways and I followed Silena and Piper towards the tunnels where the players come out of.

"This is the first time I've ever done this" I said to start a conversation going,

"It's not so bad Annabeth, you just got to focus on something happy and you'll perform well." I didn't have that many happy memories so I just decided I had to deal with it.

That was enough of the brief conversation we had. So we just gathered just by entrance of the tunnel. I noticed Drew and her girls were already there. But surprisingly they were silent and not making the usual noise of a crazed lunatic. I took it all in. The tunnel from the outside look dark. But the farther you got in you could tell it was well lit. I could see the faint lights from the field. I could also hear the students cheer. The atmosphere was amazing.

In no time the soccer team was coming out of the locker room. They looked great in their all purple kit. With the all purple uniform they looked like warriors. After all we were called the Goode Warriors. They had the experience and savviness of veterans in the game. I knew they were going to do well just by their attitude. They were serious and focused. They were ready to kick some Yancy ass.

Silena whistled for every cheerleader's attention and told us to get into position. The Goode banner was already outside the tunnel ready to be ripped by the team when they run out of the tunnel. They gave us the signal and the cheerleaders ran outside waving the pom poms in the air like maniacs. Our school side was going crazy yelling and screaming like banshees. I looked in the stands and saw various poster that made me laugh a little bit. The school did seem to have a sense of humor. I noticed one poster in particular. It was blue and the words written in black markers read "Will you marry me Jason Grace" and of course the boy raising it up was none other than Percy Jackson. What a jokester and from what I could tell when Jason was waving as he left the tunnel he saw the poster as well. Jason's face was shocked and at the same time resigned that he had an immature and silly cousin.

Then of course came Yancy Academy and when they ripped their banner the stadium was full off noise. From our side of course came the booing. From the other side was of course cheering. Leading the soccer team was the captain of their team. The boy was scrawny as a stick and had blonde hair. His skin was pale and white as paper. I read his jersey and it read "Octavian". The way he waved and entertained his side of the crowd made it look like he was used to all the attention and spotlight. Which made me think he was a stuck up little bitch that needed his ass handed to him to learn a lesson. My suspicions or should I say my assumptions were confirmed when he looked at our team with distaste and pity as if he was about punish a pet for misbehaving.

Our team didn't look fazed however. Both Captains Octavian and Jason headed towards the middle of the field. They carried to what looked like a miniature school banner. They exchanged them. But from the little exchange I could tell it was a heated moment. Octavian and Jason looked at each other as if they had a long but terrible past history. They went back to their respective sides. Jason of course went to the goal because after all he was the goalkeeper. Octavian stayed in the middle which made me think his position was sort of an attacking position.

The Yancy cheerleaders didn't pay us any mind and weren't rude. Rather they completely ignored us. As if we weren't worth their time. I liked it. No need for uncivilized social interaction so early on in the game. The referee put his thumbs up and blew his whistle. The game started.

Travis passed the ball back to one of his teammates. The boy he passed it to, was new. I hadn't seen him before, until today. I noticed that he was a Latino boy. The only Latino boy for that matter, on the Goode soccer team. He was short or I could say below average size. He looked small compared to the rest of the team. He had black curly hair and from my position and side of the field he had dark eyes. He still looked kind of like a kid or an elf from Santa. Although he was small he was really good at the sport. He wove between defenders and passed it to open teammates. I read his jersey and the name printed on his back was "Leo V.".

The game was going clean so far but of course Octavian had to start playing dirty. Although the game was still scoreless, Goode was getting the best of Yancy. Leo had the ball and was heading to the opponents goal and Octavian viciously tackled Leo from behind. He went down and Leo looked like he was in a lot of pain. The referee whistled a stoppage and went to attend to Leo. The rest of the team headed his way to see if he was good to go. Travis however looked defeated. He gave a rotating motion with his hands to the coach on the sideline. Which if I was correct meant he was asking for a substitution.

They quickly took Leo out on a stretcher and he gave the thumbs up to the crowd. Our school side cheered and clapped. Yancy however had no class.

From the stands I heard "You're such a pussy. Just like the rest of Goode. Can't be physical with them because they're so fragile." Such classless idiots. Leo was not pretending. He was actually hurt.

The rest of the game as you imagined became really dirty. Shoving and punching each other was happening more frequently. The game wasn't even a soccer/football game anymore. It was about to become a full on fist fight. Even the crowds were starting to become restless heaving insults at one another. People who didn't want to get involved in pointless fights left the stadium early. Not real fans I thought to myself.

The whistle blew and it was halftime. Hopefully enough time for tempers and egos to calm down. I decided to ask what that confrontation with Jason and Octavian was about at the beginning of the game.

"Hey Piper." She looked at my direction and waved with a huge smile.

"Hey Annabeth, how has the experience been so far?" She looked serious about her question.

"Um it's different. Definitely a tense atmosphere" I said as I looked at both sets of crowds.

"Well it's only this tense when we face Yancy. When it's against other teams its goes pretty well, actually." Piper was looking at me with a smile. As if violence was something hilarious.

"What was that little confrontation between Octavian and Jason? They looked like they wanted to strangled and beat each other up." I said as I focused on her.

"They have history. Jason went to the same middle school with Octavian before he even attended Goode. Now don't jump to conclusion he wasn't an asshole like him. He was still sweet. Anyways apparently Jason and Octavian had serious rivalry issues that eventually became physical and violent. Octavian was let off easily because his dad has a special connection with the Principal. Some high donor for them or some shit. Jason was planning to go to Yancy but of course Octavian's dad also had Yancy's principal in his pocket. So he of course wasn't accepted. So ever since they've been mortal enemies. Jason has wanted to knock Octavian's ass since middle school. But he won't because he's afraid he'll get sued or something." Piper looked out of breath as she finally finished her long rant about what the affiliation between Octavian and Jason was.

"Ahh that makes sense. But from what I can tell this game won't be pretty. I have a bad feeling about this Piper." I looked at her worried.

"Annabeth it's just your nerves. Calm down. Anyways-" She was cut off because the teams were returning back onto the field. Once again the Goode soccer team came out looking determined and focused. It felt refreshing, they reminded me of myself.

The game continued being physical and the result ended in a draw. Which I thought was a positive result because it meant nobody won and it wasn't going to end up in a violent altercation with the teams. I hate when I'm wrong though.

"Hey Grace I hope I injured that boy really good. He deserved it. He's such a joke." Jason was heading back into the tunnel and turned around.

"What did you say? You purposely injured him. You're lucky my team didn't decided to beat the shit out of you right there and then." Jason said as he quickly got into Octavian's face.

"Ahh yes of course. 'Your team'. You would act violently like they would. After all you're apart of Goode. A bunch of savages, wild, and untrained. In my opinion I think you guys should be caged." This seemed to piss Jason even more off.

"What did you just say? I want you to repeat it." He said as he grabbed Octavian's jersey.

"I won't repeat it. After all, why would I waste my time on an unintelligent human being? Oh I forgot, I meant wild animal." Jason was at this point fuming. I swear I felt like the sky above was turning dark and it was rumbling. But maybe that was just my imagination.

"I'll be the bigger man Octavian. I won't take your bait. After all I at least have some balls to get into a fight. You cower behind others to fight your battles for you. You're a coward and a fraud." Jason said with a sinister smile. He began to walk away. I noticed from the corner of my eye that Percy and his friends were heading onto the field to see what the commotion was about. Both soccer teams hadn't left either. They just stood their idly looking at both captains insult each other back and forth.

Piper went straight to Jason and hugged him. She looked proud that his boyfriend wasn't going to look for trouble. But Octavian kept going at it.

"Is that your girlfriend Grace? No way she's your girlfriend." He looked straight at Piper. "Come here darling let me show you what a real man can do." Piper gave Octavian a disgusting look.

"NO! You're such pervert. Stay the fuck away from me. Don't even look at me." Piper screamed as she hid behind Jason.

"Come on guys let's leave this loser." Jason said to his teammates and they obliged.

It looked as if everything was going to come out good in the end. No violence and no trouble. So I thought. Octavian shoved Travis as he was walking to follow Jason. Travis was shoved hard enough he fell to the ground.

Jason cracked. "That's it" That's all he said as he bum rushed Octavian and tackled him into the ground. Octavian's teammates were on Jason in a flash. They began throwing punches at him. The crowd that was still left was just realizing that a fight broke out. Percy and his friends joined in and started helping Jason out by throwing some haymakers even though one of his arms was injured. The crowds started emptying out quickly. They were coming to diffuse the situation I thought. Nope this brawl was about to become an all-out school fight. They cleared the bleachers and were running in our direction. It looked like a movie. You know the dramatics as both armies go into battle with their war cry and clash in slow motion. That's exactly what happened. Or that's how I viewed it in my perspective. People were getting tossed outside, knocked out, jumped on you name it. As I stood there watching, one question lingered in my mind. Where the fuck was the police?

I looked around and realized that there were only a few cops. Only a dozen which meant they wouldn't be able to diffuse the situation. Some tried to intervene but were quickly tossed aside by the students. They were calling for backup, but no one knew how long that would take. So the police stood back to avoid further injury.

Then of course matters turned worst. The cheerleaders from Yancy were screaming and heading in our direction intent on beating the shit out of us. Piper began talking trying to tell them that was this stupid but they weren't swayed. Piper slapped one of the leading cheerleaders. The sound resounded throughout whole field. Silena and Piper decided to start the fight. Goode Cheerleaders vs. Yancy Cheerleaders. Piper and Silena were grabbing opposing female's hairs slapping and kicking one another.

One girl approached me and was beckoning me that she wanted to fight. I shook my head. I didn't want to fight. I guess she didn't get the message as she swung her hand in my direction. I easily stepped aside. You see I don't fight like other girls. Instead of just slapping like some girls do. I actually fight using my fists. I swung one time and she crumpled. The poor girl didn't see it coming. I went after another one and hit her right in the jaw. She also easily crumpled. The Goode cheerleaders were winning. I decided to go help out Piper and Silena. I did just that, I cleaned up every girl that was trying to mess with us. Our little brawl ended quickly and what was left was just chaos still ensuing.

Some students from both side were slumped on the ground. Probably unconscious. I looked through the crowd and noticed Jason and Octavian still going at it. Percy was taking on a larger guy but seemed to have it handled, hopefully. The school fight didn't seem like it wasn't going to end soon. Not till there was one last man standing. Thankfully it didn't get to that. As sirens were heard pulling up in the parking lot. This seemed to bring everyone out of fighting and everyone echoed the same sentiment and yell. "RUN!"

 **A/N Hey guys sorry for not updating the past week. It's just that I've been tired from work and just in general I didn't have time to start writing. But here's the 8** **th** **chapter of the story. I will keep updating and hopefully try to maintain a weekly update for the story. Once again sorry for the wait and tell me what you think of the story.**

 **P.S I wanted to introduce some more character this chapter and still have to present a few more in later chapters. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring**

 **-MJ**


	9. Chapter 9

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 9**

 **PERCY POV**

RUN!

That's all I heard and then everyone dispersed fleeing in all directions. I tried to find Jason and the rest of the crew. But they were running out as well. I decided upon myself that I should probably start running to. I was running for the exits but then realized officers were coming from that direction. Some poor souls were tackled to the ground and bound by zip ties. That was not about to happen to me. So I quickly headed to the other direction and realized that it was surrounded by cops. No escape. A few stragglers were trying to climb over the six foot tall fences. They couldn't climb over it so they just sat there awaiting their fate of being tied up. It was my only option. I began to sprint to the fence. I climbed over with ease. But cops were already on the other side

"Freeze. Or we'll have to use force to subdue you." I did the most stupid thing I could've thought of. Instead of just giving up and putting my hands up, I ran. I ran the other direction. I thought I was going to escape. But I didn't. I felt a sharp shock hit my body, I slumped and crumpled to the floor hard. My head hit the concrete with a sickening thump. Everything else was a blur. I couldn't even see straight. Then I felt a heavy knee being put on my lower back which shot an excruciating pain through my whole body. They took my hands and tied them up.

Then I fell into unconsciousness. I don't even remember when they put me back into the police cruiser. They must have carried me because I had absolutely no memory of walking to the cruiser in my mind. I awoke up in the police cruiser. I looked at my surroundings but still having that unbearable pain of hitting my head on the concrete. I realized we were in my neighborhood and right next to me was my apartment complex. I realized that the officer was talking to someone. I couldn't yet see who it was because the cop was in the way and impeded the view of seeing who he was talking to. All I could hear was the muffle of their voices beyond the window.

"What is my son doing in there? He's not a criminal, get him out of there!" I had now realized that the voice that was speaking was my mother. I realized how bad it must've looked for her son to be in the back of a police cruiser.

"We'll let him off with a warning since he has no prior records. But please ma'am keep an eye on him. I can tell he is troublemaker. He has trouble listening to authority. When we asked him to surrender and to stop running he wouldn't. So we were forced to Taser him." I heard a sharp gasp from my mom. She was very protective of me and didn't like to see me get hurt.

"That's barbaric of you officer. To use such force against a child." The officer wasn't having none of it.

"CHILD?! Ma'am he's practically an adult now. He was in some school brawl about an hour ago. This boy is no child. If you keep babying him he'll become a delinquent. Do your parenting right Miss Jackson then maybe these streets would be safer from the likes of someone like your son." I was fuming. How the fuck can an officer say that. That's totally uncalled for, he had no right to talk about my mom's parenting. She's been a good parent and she's been through a lot. Such an unprofessional asshole.

He didn't even let my mom respond before he walked back to the cruiser and opened the door. He pulled me out rather forcefully. Which kind of hurt because I was bound by the zip ties. He purposely bound me tight to the point my wrist were being cut.

"I advise you stay out of trouble Mr. Jackson. I don't want to see you ever again. Do you understand me?" I looked him at with hatred.

"Yes I understand perfectly. I'm not stupid like you." The officer gave me the fakest smile humanely possible. He slashed the zip ties leaving me free. I quickly massaged my wrist where the zip ties where previously on. I guess that was all he had to say. As he began walking around the cruiser to get inside his car, I decided to give him a piece of my mind.

"I might have to see you again officer. But I'll probably be in the backseat of another cops cruiser. While you nurse your injury after I kick your ass. This isn't a threat by the way. It's all hypothetical." I finished with a sarcastic smile. This officer really got under my skin. He just gave me a sinister smile and opened his car door and then sped off down the street.

"PERSEUS JACKSON, what did you do to get involved with the law? I didn't raise you this way." I groaned as I turned to face my mom.

"Sorry mom I was just trying to help my school out. They were fighting and I had to help. And I may or may not have ran from the police" I said as I looked down at my feet.

"You did what?! I don't want to hear it go up to the apartment and into your room you're grounded for the week." I was about to start complaining but she knew I was going to say something and shook her head. She didn't want to hear any of it. I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek while I headed to my room. Some night I thought to myself as I arrived into my room and collapsed into my bed falling into my sleep.

 **PAGE BREAK**

I awoke the next morning feeling aches all over my body. Which was no doubt from reinjuring previous bruises from football practice and new bruises from the brawl yesterday. I looked at the clock and realized it was already 1:00 in the afternoon. I quickly got up from my bed and headed into the bathroom to freshen up and brush my teeth. Once I did what I needed to do and I got dressed into some simple clothing. A green t shirt and some khaki shorts. I decided to wear flip flops today. They weren't my normal choice of footwear but whatever.

I ran into the living room passing the kitchen and was about to head out the door. Until I heard a familiar voice.

"Where do you think you're going Percy?" I noticed my mom was by the entryway of the kitchen beaming at me.

"I'm going out to have fun. What else do you think?" She shook her head and waved for me to come to her.

"I grounded you yesterday remember. That means not going out or inviting friends over. You have to learn your punishment. I'm sorry Percy." Ugh I totally forgot that I was grounded yesterday. I just sighed and went back to the direction of my room. But before I got in I heard my mom call me.

"Percy come here" I was hoping that my mom had a change of heart and was going to let me out to have fun. I quickly ran to her and looked at her expectantly.

"I'm having a date here today, with Mr. Blofis your English teacher. I invited him over for dinner at six in the afternoon. Please tidy up your room and the living room." She said as she smiled at me.

"You're going out with Mr. Blofis? Eww mom that's awkward for me. Can I like leave the apartment when he's here?" My mom looked at me like I said something offending. I then realized why I remembered Mr. Blofis's appearance. I did see him somewhere with my mom one time. So this is the mysterious guy my mom's been going out with. I guess I was happy for her.

"Perseus for the last time you're grounded. You will eat dinner with Paul and me today. So go and clean up would you." There was a serious tone in her voice. I decided not to say anything and headed to my room to clean up.

I got to my room and saw that my room had been a mess. I haven't exactly been tidy recently. I sighed and then began to work. I changed my bedsheets and swept the floor of any trash. Cleaned my desk of past and current homework that I wasn't going to do. By the end of the hour my room was spotless. All the clothes that were thrown around were in the dirty bin. It felt satisfying but also annoying to clean up my room. I moved next to the living room and did the same. To summarize I would make a really good maid. Everything looked clean and tidy all it was missing the well awaited (not) guest.

I yelled to my mom that the cleaning was done and that if I could go out. She got angry at me because I kept pestering her about letting me out. She didn't budge she kept telling me no. My mom finished cooking whatever she was doing and then headed to the shower and to get ready for her date. When she came out of her room my mom looked simple but beautiful. As I was about to say something there was a knock on the door. She signaled for me to go get it while she headed to the kitchen and brought out the food.

I opened the door and saw Mr. Blofis. Seeing him up close I could finally take in his features. He had black hair with specks of gray as well. He looked to be in his thirties I couldn't really tell his age. He was your generic middle aged man. He was attractive. My mom has good taste in men I guess.

"Hello Mr. Blofis, what are you doing here?" I acted like I didn't know why he was here.

"Um, your mom didn't tell you? Well we're having a date here…" He looked awkward and uncomfortable when he said he was having a date with my mom.

"I'm just pulling your leg Mr. Blofis. She told me, come on in." I stepped out of the doorway and let him in. Mr. Blofis briskly walked into the apartment. I closed the door and showed him into the dining room.

"Nice place." He said rather awkwardly. As he began to play with his jacket.

"Uhh yeah, I'll see if my mom is ready." I quickly got out of that awkward conversation and told my mom to hurry up. She finished putting the food on the table and briefly gave Mr. Blofis a smile. He looked at me first before giving my mom a nervous smile.

We sat down to eat. My mom made some lasagna, salad, and baked some rolls. I sat down at the farthest end of the table from both of them. I quietly grabbed and picked the food onto my plate. I stayed silent for most of the dinner. Mr. Blofis and my mom did as well. I could tell the connection was there between the two of them but I was making things awkward.

I quickly ate my food in record time and was about to head to my room to further avoid this awkward atmosphere. "I'll see you later mom." I gave a nod to Mr. Blofis.

"Percy where are you going?" She said she turned around and looked at me expectantly.

"Going into my room to play some games." My mom just nodded at me before she turned back to her date.

"See you tomorrow Mr. Blofis." But before I could turn around and head to my room.

"You can call me Paul. But definitely call me Mr. Blofis in school." He smiled as she looked at me.

"Uhh okay. See you tomorrow Paul… I mean Mr. Blofis." I turned around and quickly headed to my room. As I closed the door I heard both of them begin to laugh at me. I continued to hear continued laughter throughout the night. Paul seemed like a good guy. Instead of turning on my game system to play games, I laid in my bed. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I was drifting into my sleep.

 **PAGE BREAK**

I woke up to the blaring alarm clock. It was hurting my ears and I quickly woke up to destroy the thing. I realized it was Monday which meant back to school. I groaned in my bed and went to take a shower. While I was heading to the shower I decided to peak a view in my mom's room and realized she was still fast asleep. I smiled to myself and quietly closed her door.

Once I freshened up I put on my school varsity jacket and wore some sweat pants. I was trying to wear the most comfortable things possible today. I was no doubt going to sleep through my classes today. I needed to be rested up for afternoon football practice. I grabbed a breakfast bar and quickly made my way to school.

At the front doors I saw a bunch of students whispering and gossiping about something. I saw Jason and some Riptides at the front doors and headed their way.

"What's up guys? What's the whole big commotion about?" Jason turned to look at me.

"I heard a new transfer student is coming in today. People say she's in a gang and is really dangerous. She only recruit females though." I wondered who this female could be.

"Do you know who she could be? I hope she kicks Luke's ass." I said as I laughed.

I was quickly interrupted when I heard gasps and saw people pointing at a girl. She had spiky black hair and stormy and yet frightening blue eyes. She had freckles around her nose. She wore a black leather jacket with a patch that said "Hunters of A". She was very attractive if I have to say myself. But she wasn't my type. She stared coldly at everyone who was looking and pointing at her. Everyone backed away and averted their gazes knowing this girl was trouble. Heck she even scared me a little. But something was very familiar about her. Her stormy blue eyes were the exact replicas of Jason's blue eyes. But that's where similarities ended.

She got to the top step where Jason, the Riptides and I were standing on. She looked at us giving us a suspicious look. Surprisingly it was Jason who decided to walk in her direction. It was as if he was in a trance.

"I've seen you before." Jason said as he closed the distance between the mysterious girl and himself.

"I doubt it. Now get out of my way boy." Jason neutral face quickly turned into a frown.

"I'm not a boy. I suggest you watch your mouth as well. Not everyone is going to want to take your bullshit." Jason was staring coldly at her.

The girl was not having any of Jason's bullshit either. She kicked him right in the groin. She gave everyone a smirk before walking over Jason and into the school. Jason was in definite pain. She hit him right in the goodies. I was surprised he didn't start screaming. Getting hit down there was painful. That was a monstrosity she did. How could she just low blow like that.

I quickly ran to Jason and tried to pick him up. "How you holding up man?"

Jason just looked at me with fury in his face. "HOW DO YOU THINK IM HOLDING UP?! Want me to give you a taste of what it feels like" I began laughing. Sounds kind of cold but the way Jason said it made me laugh. He got even more pissed but he couldn't do anything, right now because of said pain.

"What a bitch. She's lucky I don't hit women. What does she mean I'm a boy? I'm grown ass man." Jason was just saying nonsense. The girl definitely injured more than his goodies. She injured his ego and pride as well. Everyone who witnessed what happened knew better than to laugh. Although we weren't like Luke. We didn't like to be laughed at as well. Plus Jason would personally beat whoever was laughing at him.

The rest of our crew arrived. Beckendorf, Frank, Leo (On his homemade crutches), Nico, and the Stolls were coming up the steps. Jason was lucky the rest of the crew didn't witness what happened or he wouldn't hear the end of it.

I saw Annabeth, Silena, Piper, and Hazel walk together to school. I decided not to interrupt them, even though I wanted to talk to Annabeth. I went in with the rest of the crew to our classes. Like always I had Ancient History first with Mr. Brunner. He gave us a quiz about mythology and I of course aced it. I could bullshit my way through that class because I knew so much about it. Frank arrived in late but he had an excused late slip. Mr. Brunner took everything seriously and if he wasn't excused, Mr. Brunner would've failed Frank for the quiz. Frank had no worries though he was an honor roll student. Like me he passed the quiz and we headed onto our next class.

As I was heading to my math class I saw Drew and Ethan making out. That was just plain disgusting. I almost vomited on the spot, but I quickly proceeded to my class to avoid a confrontation with them. I would no doubt never forget that horrific scene that had just transpired. It would appear in my nightmares and every time I would eat. Yuck.

I got into my math class and noticed the transfer student was sitting in my seat next to Annabeth. Annabeth and the new girl looked they had known each other for years. The way they conversed made it seem so easy.

"Uhh I sit there. Can you please get up?" I looked at them awkwardly.

The new girl got up. "No! I got here first so fuck off." The way she said it made me irritated. Maybe if she said no nicely I would've left. But I didn't

"Get out of my fucking seat!" I practically yelled at her.

"Listen buddy I don't want to hurt you like I did your friend this morning." She said as she started to smirk.

"Yeah that low blow really makes you tough doesn't it?" I got into her face when I said this. She didn't seem to like my sarcasm and once again she went for a low blow but this time I caught her leg.

"Nice try. Don't try that petty shit on me." I turned and decided to look for another seat at the back of the room. I noticed Annabeth was staring at me with a pissed off face. But I couldn't care less. Someone needed to put the new girl in her place. I wasn't going to do it but someone was.

Just then Mrs. Dodds busted in through the door and stared at the new girl before looking around. I guess she was looking for me and then she pointed at me and told me to head out of the class. Great I get into trouble and I didn't even do anything.

But before I could say anything Mrs. Dodds interrupted me. "Mr. D wants to see you in his office." she was about to head into her classroom.

"Wait, what for?" Mrs. Dodds didn't even bother answering the sinister smile she gave me sent chills down my spine. She closed the door in front of my face and left me to wonder why I was wanted in the principal's office.

I walked in the lonely halls of the school. Walking slowly to try think of what I could've possibly done to warrant a visit into the principal's office. I saw a few students skipping classes and making out in hiding. Just looking at couples make out made feel an empty feeling that I've never experienced before. I realized I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't realize I was already in front of the front office.

I walked in and greeted the front desk assistant. "I'm here to see Mr. D?" I phrased it into sort of question hoping it was a mistake I was called to the office.

"Ah yes. You must be Mr. Jackson please proceed into his office." I looked at her as she smiled at me waiting for me to get on my way to the principal's office. I just stood there for a second hoping she wasn't the last person I would be seeing at Goode. I took a deep breath and opened Mr. D's office door. I noticed it was empty only him and I. Which scared me because no one could be a witness in case he would go on a rampage.

"Sit Mr. Johnson." He stared at me while I sat in one of the chairs in front of him.

"It's Jackson sir, not Johnson." He waved my response with some irritation.

"Whatever Peter. Anyways I brought you into this office because we need to chat about some events that happened over the weekend."

My heart started to beat faster. Was he going to expel me for fighting? I seriously started to begin panicking. "Uh yes sure I will cooperate with anything you need to know" My last ditch effort was to be nice and hope he wouldn't expel me rather issue a lesser sentence maybe a suspension.

"It has come to my attention that you were involved in fight with some students at Yancy Academy." He looked at me straight in the eye. I couldn't lie, he would know. Not only that he could just ask the police and they would confirm I was guilty.

"Yes sir. I was involved in a fight with students from Yancy." I looked at him with panic. I was just waiting for the words. Which was you're expelled. However I got something else.

"Did you beat them? Did you win?" I looked at him shocked. What the hell was he on about?

"Excuse me sir. What did you say?" I was asking to make sure I wasn't hearing wrong.

"Apparently you're hard of hearing. I said did you beat the Yancy Students?" Once again I couldn't hide my shock. I couldn't lie to him.

"I did beat some of them up, yes. I was just trying to help my friends from Goode." I said when I looked down at my feet.

When I looked up again I noticed Mr. D had a fist in front of me. I thought he was going to hit me. But I gave him a fist bump instead.

"Good job Peter Johnson. I hate those Yancy brats. They needed to learn their place on the food chain. Goode of course is at the top." I was literally pissing my pants for no reason. Mr. D had called me to congratulate me. Today was a weird day.

"However, Mr. Johnson I have to punish you for those acts. It made our school look bad. So this what I propose. One week of community service." He eyed me as he was telling me my punishment.

"Only one week?" If that was the punishment I could get used to fighting Yancy brats with only one week of community service.

"Oh you want two weeks of community service Mr. Johannsson? Granted I knew you liked doing community service." From that point on I realized I needed to shut my big ass mouth. I could've gotten away with only one week of community service but now I get two. Ugh me and my mouth.

I just nodded and he excused me out of his office. Even though two weeks of community service is a bit much it's better than getting expelled. It was still second period so I decided to head back to math class. I opened the classroom door and everyone looked up at me. Even Mrs. Dodds was surprised I was still in school. Normally getting called to Mr. D's office meant they didn't see you again that day, but I was the only exception. I triumphantly walked back to my seat. I of course zoned out and was in my own little world. I was not about to pay attention to Mrs. Dodds the demon.

Class ended shortly after I arrived and I got up to go to my next class. When I got to Mr. Blofis's class he gave me a kind smile. I returned one in return. Although I still found him dating my mother rather awkward. I sat in my usual seat with Hazel and class began. Unlike previous classes we didn't act out Macbeth this class period. Instead we talked about books we liked to read. Mr. Blofis wanted to try something different this year, which meant after reading Macbeth he would give the class a choice of selecting the next book to read. Mr. Blofis found this fun but I hated reading so it didn't matter much to me. English felt like it went on for hours but the class eventually ended.

Hazel and I went to find the rest of our crew and the Riptides. I realized that Annabeth and the new girl were still talking to each other when they came out of their class. The new girl gave me an evil smirk which ticked me off. Riptides then began appearing and started to talk to one another. As we gathered just outside the lunchroom I realized that Luke and his Backbiters were heading to the lunchroom with their heads held up high. With their eyes on the new girl…

 _Why were the Backbiters eyeing the new girl? Perhaps another fight will breakout over this new girl. How do the new girl and Annabeth know each other? Why are they so close? You'll know in the next chapter!_

 **A/N Hey guys sorry for not updating on my supposed deadline which was yesterday. But here is the Chapter 9 of Trouble at Goode. Although it's late I hope you like it.** **I kind of had an emergency yesterday that's why I didn't update. But please once again show some love and review what you liked about the chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Annabeth POV**

The weekend was over after that savage brawl that happened at the soccer game. I should've known though. I should've listened to everyone who said things could get ugly. But I never expected for that to happen that early. I guess my ignorance got the best of me. Well its lesson learned and mistake that won't happen again. When I got back home after that unpleasant situation, I just got home and went to bed. I was tired both physically and mentally. Sunday went the same way. I just laid in bed all day and ate when I had to. Once again my dad wasn't at the house which worried me. But he's a grownup, he knows how to take care of himself. But I still had that lingering feeling that my dad was behaving the way he was because of my step mom. All that disappeared though when I fell asleep.

I woke up early for classes on Monday with a groan. I loved school but my sleeping schedule was altered during the weekend. My body wasn't used to sleeping late. So I was tired. Of course I still was going to do my best for the day but I needed caffeine so I didn't knockout during my classes. On the way to school I passed by Starbucks and grabbed coffee, I made sure they put an extra shot of caffeine into it. Hail and behold I found Hazel, Piper, and Silena there getting coffee as well.

"I didn't expect to find you guys here." The group jumped as if I scared them. Piper turned around and then smiled at me.

"Hey Annabeth. Yea we come here all the time. How was yesterday by the way? You know after what happened at the game." Our names were called for our drinks so we went to get them. We then sat at a free table to have a little chit chat before school.

"Good I guess. I mean I wasn't hurt or anything. I just felt really tired the day after." I said as I began drinking my strong coffee.

"You can say that again. I lost Frank in all the commotion. I was so worried. He didn't call me the night of the school fight. He finally called yesterday. But it was late in the night. He thankfully, said that he was okay. But I was so tired from worrying over him." Hazel had a face of worry as she explained that she spent the whole Sunday worrying about Frank if he was going to ever call or not. He eventually did though.

"Alright it's time to girls, want to come Annabeth. We kind of came walking today because I kind of fucked up my car on Saturday." Everyone looked at Silena then began to laugh hysterically. It was well known that she was a horrible driver.

We started walking to school which wasn't terribly far away from the Starbucks but either way it felt like a long walk. Maybe because the rest of the girls were kind of slow walkers. They took their time and pointed at houses they liked and cars they thought were cool. They were thinking towards their future already. Like Piper, she was pointing about the cars she wanted and the house she and Jason were going to buy in the future and have their kids and stuff. That's way too early. I can't think that far ahead. I need to get my life straightened out before I even think about that stuff.

The long walk finally came to an end when we finally spotted the school. There was a huge crowd assembled outside of the school. Just regular students and Riptides. I saw Percy kneeling over Jason. I noticed that Piper noticed and quickly ran to him to see what was going on. Percy then left to go back into school, Frank right on his tail. For some reason that irritated me. He didn't even say hello. Either way I decided to head to my first period class and said goodbye to Silena and Hazel. Silena of course went to meet Beckendorf at the front door and check on Jason as well.

Hazel went another way. Maybe to talk to more of her friends. I decided to stroll right into my first period class. That's when I noticed someone very familiar. She had black hair and a leather jacket with the patch "Hunter of A" stitched on them. It could only be one person. It had to be her.

"Oh my gosh, is that you Thalia?" The girl immediately shot up. Looked in the direction of the person who called her. She then smiled at me as if now remembering who I was.

"Is that you Annabeth?" She got up and crushed me in a bear hug.

"Yes it's me. What are you doing here in New York?" I asked her as I got out of her hug.

"Well my dad told me I should move out here. I left Phoebe in charge of things in San Francisco till the summer." Thalia's father was Zeus, one of the richest men in the United States. He created a luxury jet and other stuff.

"But why did you come to Goode High School? Not that I'm complaining but there's a lot of schools out here in New York." Thalia just smiled like my question was obvious.

"Goode is the best school around. Why would I choose to go to another school? Anyways my dad doesn't like Yancy Academy that much. But he said if I wanted to go there I could." Immediately memories of that brawl occurred to me.

"Yeah that's true. Yancy is definitely not somewhere to go. Let me see your schedule by the way, I hope we have a lot of classes together." Thalia had a questioning look when I mentioned Yancy Academy but didn't press it. Thalia handed me her schedule. I almost jumped for joy except that would look weird in front of the class.

"YES!" I basically screamed out. Everyone looked up from their phones to look at me. I blushed a little but disregarded them. "We have every class together. This is great." Thalia smiled even wider than before. The smiling was short lived because the teacher came in and told us to begin taking notes.

"Alright listen up students. We have a new transfer student in today. Her name is Thalia Grace. Could you please stand to say hi to the class?" Thalia got up and just waved her hand at everyone. She quickly sat down and then class started. Thalia of course wasn't going to take notes. She doesn't do school but she has to stay in school. All she did was have her head down the whole period. That's why she stayed back two times, her lack of interest in school. I kept noticing guys from the back keep staring at Thalia with hungry looks. I internally laughed because Thalia swore off boys some time ago and she hates when guys look at her like a piece of meat. Either way Thalia loves kicking guy's asses any day. It's part of her job description of being the second in command of "The Hunters of A". I remembered I almost joined the Hunter of A, but I felt like I couldn't swear off boys. Plus the leader was very strict when it came to men. If you broke the vow of swearing off men, serious punishment would follow.

Class was dismissed and we headed to math. My favorite subject, but the teacher Mrs. Dodds was stressful. Even though I was her favorite student, she still gave mass amounts of homework. But I could tell she knew I could handle it and that she was preparing me for college by training me to learn how to deal with a massive workload. Every time she needed a math problem solved, she always picked me. She always picked me because I always had the right answer for the problem.

As we walked I forgot that Percy sat next to me for Math. He shouldn't get mad at Thalia since she's a new student. Anyways he has to get over with it or swallow his pride and walk away. I sat in my original seat which was at the front of the room and Thalia proceeded to sit next to me.

"Percy Jackson usually sits next to me but I think he won't mind if you sit here." I smiled at her when she sat down.

"Who's Percy Jackson?" Speaking of the troublemaker himself he opens the door and was heading our direction. But at first he didn't notice Thalia until he was actually in front of her.

He looked awkward when he talked. "Uhh I sit there. Can you please get up?"

Thalia did something so unexpected. She got up and got into Percy's face. "No! I got here first so fuck off." This was not going as planned. I noticed Percy's expressionless face turn into frown. His usual bright sea green eyes darkened a bit.

"Get out of my fucking seat" He yelled at Thalia. It shocked me but it also pissed me off. Why was Percy acting so angry and distasteful with Thalia?

Thalia then answered but her response confused me. "Listen buddy I don't want to hurt you like I did your friend this morning."

"Yeah that low blow really makes you tough doesn't it?" Percy was so close in Thalia's face they were inches away from each other's mouths. All this happening while the other students in the class were staring and listening intently at the argument.

Thalia responded with an action rather than a response. She was about to kick Percy right where the place don't shine. Percy caught her leg as if he expected this to happen. "Nice try. Don't try that petty shit on me" Percy said as he threw Thalia's leg down. This was how the great Percy Jackson treated the ladies? What a total jerk. He said he wanted to welcome students yet he practically tried to intimidate Thalia.

He left shortly after to sit at the back of the class. I turned around and glared at him. He gave me a confused look which pissed me even more because he acted like he did nothing wrong.

I quickly turned around when Mrs. Dodds quickly stormed in and was looking for a victim to send to the principal's office. She looked in our direction, specifically at Thalia's seat. Noticing her target wasn't there she scanned the classroom with her vision. She immediately pointed to someone in the back. I knew who she was pointing at.

"Mr. Jackson, Mr. D wants to see you in his office." That's all she said until she exited the classroom. She was waiting for Percy outside the classroom. Percy left and then shortly after Mrs. Dodds came in and told everyone to stop staring and to get their homework out.

"That jerk deserves what he got." Thalia said under her breath. I decided not to say anything to defend Percy because he disappointed me with how he reacted to Thalia.

Mrs. Dodds called Thalia out to introduce herself to the classroom. She did and Mrs. Dodds relented the seat to Thalia as her assigned seat. Which meant Percy was relegated to the desks in the back row. It was already the middle of second period and Percy hadn't returned yet. Which worried me even though he was acting like a jerk today.

Percy has a sense of good timing because as soon as I began thinking about him. He opened the classroom door and went to sit at the back seat. Not even looking in our direction. Wow he's acting like more of a jerk, not even trying to acknowledge me. During the period I noticed Thalia was once again slumped back in her chair pretending to listen to Mrs. Dodds but actually just daydreaming. I looked back at Percy who was also zoned out. He was finding the outside particularly interesting. Maybe there so alike that's why they can't stand each other. Shortly after class ended Percy got up and was the first one out of the class. Paying no mind to anyone else.

Thalia and I then headed to our next class. This class felt like it went on for ours. Like if one hour passed and it was only ten minutes that had passed. I had this class with Grover and he was a nice guy. He welcomed Thalia to the school and everything. Thalia even softened her defenses a little bit and smiled at him. Grover was very genuine, he never had an ulterior motive to get at somebody. Sometimes I forgot he was in Riptides and that he could actually fight. His face was so tranquil, he loved nature, and he picked the least violent sport to play which was, rock climbing.

Class finally ended and Thalia was telling me about her day so far. She said that it was alright but some people ruin the high school experience for her. She then gave a playful smirk to someone up ahead. I noticed it was Percy, who looked pretty ticked off. I didn't know if he was pissed at me, Thalia or even both of us. But that made me angry he's the one at fault. I then noticed his focus turned to someone behind us which made his face turn into a frown. I looked back and noticed that it was Luke and his goons. I groaned this day could not get any worse could it.

I hurried Thalia closer to the Riptides and the cafeteria doors. Until I heard Luke call us from behind. "Hey blondie and new girl where you two pretty things going?" Thalia of course was not about to have herself named "new girl" especially from a guy.

"My name is Thalia, pretty boy. I advise you to leave us alone." Thalia roared at Luke.

"Feisty aren't you? Don't worry I like them that way." Luke winked at Thalia. Which infuriated her even more.

I noticed that Percy and the Backbiters were just watching what was going on. I was just expecting them to jump in in case they tried to touch Thalia. But Thalia had everything under control. When Luke tried to touch her arm she twisted his arm and had him in a choke hold in no time.

"You still want to play around pretty boy?" Luke's face was in anger but also in confusion. He was probably thinking how Thalia could be so strong and know how to fight. Ethan and the Backbiters were about to interfere and grab Thalia and hold her back.

But the Riptides got in front of them in sort of a challenge to see if they dared to try to touch her. Jason and Percy were at the forefront. Percy was right in Ethan's face egging him on. But Thalia let Luke go as Luke quickly got up to his feet. Of course Thalia didn't like help from boys so she grabbed Percy's arm and swung him into her shoulder. Percy's face hit her square in the shoulder and I heard the impact. Percy slumped to the ground grabbing his nose. But surprisingly he wasn't bleeding.

"I don't need your help, Jackson. " Percy's face was full of rage. But he just got up dusted himself off and walked right past Thalia and into the lunchroom with the Riptides following after him. Jason looked at Thalia with a confusing look as if asking why she did that. But she shrugged and he turned around and went into the cafeteria.

"Why did you do that?" I yelled at Thalia.

"I didn't need their help." She snarled at me.

"Okay I understand that Thalia. But why did you go and knock Percy down?" Thalia looked at me confused.

"I don't know I was still kind of mad that he yelled at me during math. So I guess that was payback." Thalia was waiting for me to snap back. But instead I laughed.

"You're unpredictable Thalia. Now let's go eat lunch." I grabbed her hand and dragged her into the lunchroom.

I decided to sit at Percy's table today. For the most part, so Thalia could apologize to everyone. To also explain that Thalia like's doing stuff on her own. That's why she reacted the way she did. However I guess Percy was still mad because I heard him tell Jason that he was leaving. He didn't say anything to anyone else. Inside I felt hurt not even a goodbye for me?

"Why is he leaving?" Surprisingly it was Thalia who asked.

"He has things to do. But right now he's going to the school swimming pool to cool off. He still isn't exactly thrilled that you knocked him down." Thalia looked amused that she pissed Percy off.

"Good, he needs to learn that not everything is about him." Thalia said while she was laughing.

"He's actually not like that. He's selfless and humble. But he has attitude issues and he has a knack for trouble." Which made Thalia looked shocked to hear. But before she could respond the conversation shifted.

"I feel like I know you but I can't put my finger on it?" Thalia looked at him like he was crazy.

"Where you from?" Jason asked Thalia.

"San Francisco I was born there, my mom took care of me."

"That's weird I'm from San Francisco too." Jason narrowed his eyes at Thalia.

"Beats me I don't remember you." Thalia began analyzing Jason as if trying to recall anyone from her past that maybe remotely resembled him.

"Do you have any siblings?" Thalia tensed at Jason's question. I could already see the imaginary walls of her defenses being put up.

Thalia carefully worded her response. "I had a younger brother. But my mom gave him to a foster home as soon as he was born. I never knew if he got adopted or not." Thalia looked very sad. Even I didn't know she had a younger brother. But the fact she was telling Jason definitely told me something about Thalia. She had opened up a lot more.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I never knew my mom. I do know my dad though. But sadly I don't see him that often though. Do you know your dad?" Jason looked visually shaken when he recounted his sad story of not having his parents with him during his life.

"Yea I do. He's a rich businessman that loves everything to do with air travel. He's made his money and life off that." Thalia said rather hatefully. I knew Thalia and her dad didn't have a good relationship but it sounded like Thalia resented her father.

"Huh that's funny." Jason looked at Thalia with calculating eyes.

"What's funny?" Thalia looked very defensive now. She didn't like people laughing at her life story especially a guy.

"My dad also is a rich businessman that makes his money from air related business." Now it was Thalia's turn to narrow her eyes at him.

"What's your father's name?" Thalia worded her question suspiciously.

"My dad is Zeus Jupiter CEO of Olympus Sky LLC" Thalia looked like she was going to be sick. But she also looked relieved for some odd reason. I looked back and forth, from Thalia to Jason. Wondering who was going to break the silence first.

"Who's your father Thalia?" The words that came out of Jason's mouth was enough to shake Thalia out of whatever she was thinking about.

"My dad is also Zeus Jupiter. Nice to finally see you baby brother." Thalia said as a tear fell out of her eye. She quickly hopped over the lunch table and went to hug her long lost brother. I was very shocked. What were the odds of them finding each other in New York and at the same school? My guess it was relatively low.

"This must be why dad told me to come to New York and to come to Goode. He was trying to reunite us." Jason looked at her quizzically. But was quickly broken out of it when Thalia once again hugged her long lost brother.

It was really weird seeing Jason cry. Everyone in the lunchroom just sat and stared at the reunited brothers but they didn't know of course. Piper was looking at Jason and Thalia with a harsh glare, trying to figure out what was going on. She probably thought Jason was making a move on Thalia. She quickly stormed out of the lunchroom. Little did she know that they were siblings. I hated to break up the reunion but I told Jason of the situation with Piper. He looked shocked and scared at the same time. He told Thalia that that they would talk later and that he had to explain to his girlfriend Piper of the situation before she gets the wrong idea. But before she let him go she apologized to him.

"Sorry for kicking you in the goodies this morning. I thought you were a guy trying to hit on me." My jaw fell to the ground. Thalia kicked Jason right in the nut sack, her own brother. That was ice cold.

Jason quickly forgave her then ran through the lunchroom to catch Piper. He most likely mentally and physically prepared himself for Piper's wrath.

As Thalia sat down I couldn't help myself. "You kicked your own brother in the nut sack?" Thalia just nodded as if it was ordinary for her to low blow guys like that.

Lunch quickly ended after that. So much had happened in just one day of school. Thalia found her long lost brother. Another brawl was averted because Thalia knocked Luke around and set him in his place. No doubt Luke was going to seek revenge. But Thalia was not someone to mess with. I doubt she came alone to New York. She was after all the Hunters of A's second in command.

After the atmosphere was heavy when I entered Goode this morning, it seemed to lighten up finally. Maybe I could get used to this type of atmosphere where no tension was present. Art ended pretty quickly especially since it was fun with Thalia. She would flip paint all over the place. She wasn't the best student but she did make things fun. P.E. was the same. Coach Hedge finally decided to do an organized activity which was volleyball. It was the Riptides and Thalia on one side with Drew and her followers with the Backbiters on the other side. Sadly Drew's team won because most of their team actually played for the volleyball team which meant they were very good.

However I didn't see Percy in the hallways or at P.E which confused me a little bit. He was a troublemaker but he didn't skip classes. Maybe he got into trouble and was sent home. Who knows? Coach Hedge dismissed us into the changing rooms so we could change back to the clothes we came to school with. Every girl was fond of Thalia everyone except Drew and her bitches. They looked at Thalia distastefully knowing she was a threat to them. Drew didn't cause or say anything though because she knew she was going to get the beat down if she challenged Thalia.

School was let out but Jason, Thalia, Piper, some Riptides and I decided to linger a bit after school. Some guy named Beal from the Riptides was trying to flirt with me. He was on the baseball team. He had brown hair with blue eyes. Sure he was alright looking but he wasn't my type. Either way I gave him the courtesy of letting him flirt with me because he was actually funny. He was respectful too he wasn't pushy or anything.

We finally decided to leave the school. Thalia invited me over to her place to hangout but to also show me around where she lived. On the way out we saw some students lingering about the school hallways. As we were approaching the door I noticed Percy coming from a side hall from the direction of the lockers rooms. He was heading to the main exit of the school with duffle bag in hand. He looked dirty, which meant he had just come from football practice. He was walking with a brisk pace and soon he was out the door heading into the sun to his house.

"Wow that guy likes to walk fast. He plays football and has an attitude, typical jock." Thalia said from behind me while she stared at Percy walking in the distance.

"Yes and he's a lot like you, attitude and all. Meet Percy Jackson your cousin" Thalia looked kind of shocked but she then smiled. She walked ahead of me as she led me to her new place and I followed.

Yea well that's man you want. Even though he has an attitude, you like everything about him. The smile he has which makes you sweat. The way he looks at you with amused eyes. His eyes that are mesmerizing with a hidden glint of darkness but layered with light. Some may think he's nothing but trouble but he's more than that. He's a character. Unique and loyal to a fault. His determination to be the best at whatever he sets his mind to. The way everyone follows him because he's a great leader. His charisma emanates throughout the school. His charisma is why you're drawn to him. Sure he acts dumb and silly sometimes but that's because he's trying to entertain you. There are many guys at school but none like him. None that makes you feel weak the way he does. My conscience said to me as I followed Thalia to her house.

 **A/N Well I present to you the tenth chapter of Trouble at Goode. I hope you like it. I wrote this extremely quickly to my surprise. I was having a bit of writers block for the previous chapters but now I'm writing these chapters with renewed effort. Please review to tell me what you liked about the story.**

 **P.S The Guest who recommended me to input Reyna in the story I might just do that so just you wait** **.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan.**

 **IN FACT NOTHING BELONGS TO ME haha.**

 **Chapter 11**

 **Percy POV**

Luke and his pack where coming down the hallway with their eyes on Thalia. Everything happened so fast. Within no time she had him in a choke hold. When everyone else from the Backbiters were trying to intervene, we quickly stepped up to help Thalia out. She said some words to Luke and he went running away, like a scared dog with his tail between his legs. Ethan and the other buffoons quickly followed after him. What I didn't expect was for Thalia to grab me by my wrist and swing me right into her shoulder. I felt pain immediately at my nose as my hands quickly went to go help my injured nose. Surprisingly my nose was not broken and wasn't bleeding for that matter. But I was really irritated. Why the fuck would she do that when I was just trying to help her out?

I heard Thalia telling everyone surrounding her that she didn't need anyone's help. She was such an arrogant spoiled brat. I decided to just walk by her and not doing anything. After all, I didn't really hit girls. But to say that I walked away with any dignity was false. My pride took a hit because after all, a girl knocked me to the ground. What's worse? I couldn't and wouldn't do anything to remotely hurt Thalia.

I got to the lunchroom and quickly got my food and sat down to eat my food quickly. I didn't want to really stay in the cafeteria after what had transpired. Especially since Thalia would be smirking and giving me wicked smiles constantly reminding me that she knocked me on my ass. Right on queue Thalia and Annabeth were heading to my table with the rest of my group in route. I basically swallowed my lunch, I didn't even get to taste it.

Jason had just sat down when I whispered to him. "Hey bro I'm heading to the school indoor pool to cool off and get my thoughts cleared out." Jason just nodded then resumed talking to Annabeth and Thalia.

To be completely honest I was still irritated and mad at Annabeth. She was sending death stares at me when I stood up to Thalia. Which honestly pissed me off because after all it was Thalia who instigated everything.

I got to the school's indoor swimming pool. The pool itself was rather large considering, after all, we did host most of the state swimming competitions. I pushed that out of my mind as I headed to the changing rooms. I got to my locker where I stored my swimming trunks when I needed a swim. I pulled out my green swimming trunks and stuffed my school attire into my duffle bag and stuffed the bag inside the locker.

I quickly went to the diving board. But I just stood there looking at the water. I realized swimming season didn't start till next semester. I was already missing the adrenaline and fatigue that came with swimming competitions. I took a deep breath and dove into the pool. I swam all the way to the bottom of the pool. I just sat there thinking. It was refreshing knowing that water could easily calm me down.

All these thoughts came to my mind. Annabeth with Thalia as if they had known each other for years. The striking resemblance between Jason and Thalia's eyes. Even going back to the Yancy Brawl.

So many things were on my mind. But everything that came flashing back to me was Annabeth. It really infuriated me. She could be so annoying sometimes. Like how she gets mad at me for sometimes talking back to teachers and giving sarcastic remarks. The way she doesn't even acknowledge me like I don't even exist. Sometimes I think it's best to distance myself from her. I don't want my feelings to turn into something more serious.

Right on queue my lungs started to burn and ache. The need for oxygen was evident as I quickly swam to the surface. When I got the surface I began to cough. I was so close to drowning, after being lost in my thoughts.

The time in the pool soothed me and my emotions. So I headed to the changing room again. I headed to the shower to wash out the stench and any lingering chlorine I had on my skin from the pool water. I quickly changed into the attire I came to school with. I grabbed my phone from my locker and almost forgot that I had my driver's license test today. My mom had texted me that she would be at the school in five minutes.

I quickly ran to the front office and right on time was my mom, opening the front door. My mom signed me out and in no time we were on the road in her 1995 Ford F-150. The car itself was really old but it still was in good condition.

"You know your father said he was going to buy you a new car when you get your driver's license." I looked at my mother with a frown. My dad thought just because he sent me money and bought me stuff that I would automatically forgive him. He missed most of my childhood and I still resent him for that.

"It's the least he can do." I muttered under my breath. But of course my mom's hearing is sharp and she heard me.

"Honey you know your father loves you. He's just preoccupied with his company." I bit my lip. I really didn't want to argue with my mom. I was going to give a mean retort but decided against it. So I just nodded.

"You're all grown up." She grabbed my face with her free hand. My mom had a faraway look in her eyes when she inspected my face. All the bruises and cuts she saw throughout my childhood came to mind.

"You're just like him. Always got into trouble and always defied authority." I just couldn't stand it anymore. I hated being compared to my father. I had the same striking physical resemblance and apparently the same attitude. I just wish I don't leave my kids without a father.

We arrived to the Motor Vehicles facility. I was kind of nervous. My mom taught me how to drive but in reality she was kind of a reckless driver, similar to me. We grabbed our ticket and waited on the benches ready for my name to be called. It was around an hour till my number was called. My mom gave me the truck keys and I went with the motor vehicle employee to the car.

Thankfully I didn't get an old employee. I heard those are the strictest and the ones that constantly try to be mean to you. The one who was grading me for my license was a female about five feet four. She had black hair and brown eyes. She was attractive. I read from her name tag that her name was Jennie.

"Hello Mr. Jackson I'll be your driving instructor for today. Please get into the car and start it." I quickly but nervously opened the car door and closed the car door. The door slammed so hard it shook the car. I mentally face palmed, great I'm going to break my car down before it even hits the open road.

I turned the keys into the ignition and in no time I was on the road driving. I was making sure to pay attention on the road. I looked around at my surroundings before I accelerated and made sure I had enough distance to break from the car ahead. What I didn't notice was that the motor vehicle employee was just plain staring and glancing at me the whole drivers test. In summary I did pass the test and to be completely honest, I think I passed it only because Jennie liked me, which was very unprofessional mind you.

My mom was very excited but she quickly dropped me off back to school and she returned back to work. Sometimes I don't get why she doesn't let my dad pay for her loans and bills, it would be so much easier.

I made it in time for last period. But like the scholar I am, I decided to skip P.E. Everyone was in there and I really didn't feel like talking to anyone. So I just stayed in the men's bathroom the whole period, just on my phone reading about sharks. I heard the bell ring and quickly headed out of the bathroom and into the hallways and out through the doors.

Sadly I wouldn't be going straight home today. It was my first day of community service at a soup kitchen near my apartment complex. Mr. D gave me the address to the location and I slowly walked to it. I don't know why, I was just delaying the inevitable. Don't get me wrong I love helping people out, but being forced to help people out isn't my style.

I arrived to my destination and realized the soup kitchen looked kind of fancy. It was a two story brick house but from the open windows I noticed that in each room a chandelier was hanging from the ceiling. I rang the doorbell and was buzzed in. I was surprised to see so many people. But the best part about it, most of the volunteers were mostly people my age. Not the stereotypical old people you would see helping out in the community.

The walls were gold with the marble floors adorning the house. The tables where people sat to eat, where made of glass with leather chairs surrounding the dining tables. For being a soup kitchen, they definitely were pretty well off serving people who were less fortunate. Sadly the dunce Mr. D didn't tell me who to report to, so I stood in the crowd looking like a dumb idiot. Till I heard a voice behind me.

"You know this only for people who need food, right?" I turned around to see a girl with glossy black hair and dark obsidian black eyes. She was really beautiful, definitely of Hispanic descent.

"I obviously know. I'm not as dumb as I look." I choked out. The way she stared at me scared me. Her gaze looked like she was ready to kill me if I did anything remotely idiotic.

"So I'm guessing you're lost. Tell me where you're headed and I'll point you to the right direction." The way she spoke to me was like as if she had a hidden resentment towards me. Like I did something to her. Then I realized, I was so focused on her eyes and face I didn't realize what she was wearing. She was wearing a purple cardigan over her white dress shirt tucked in her plaid purple skirt. Stitched in gold on her cardigan was 'YA'. I knew what it meant.

Through gritted teeth I said. "I see why your tone has resentment. You're from Yancy Academy."

She narrowed her eyes at me, then realization also dawned into her face. Disdainfully she said "You're from there. From that copycat school, Goode High." We were basically having a staring competition to see who would back off first. I wasn't going to back down from a Yancy brat. No way in Hades.

"I'm also not lost. I've come here to do community service hours as punishment. Now helping people who need help isn't a punishment. Having to deal with you for two weeks is going to be my true punishment." I heard her scoff. As if she couldn't believe my words. I could already tell she hated my guts. Which was unfair because I didn't know her. Maybe it was also unfair of me to judge her just because she goes to the most hated rival school in New York.

"I see, well I'm in charge of this activity. So you report to me. Keep that attitude up with me and you'll not only get your ass handed to you but you're also going to have to do your 'punishment' elsewhere, delinquent." Now those words hurt. She reminded of that cop that called me a no good troublemaking delinquent. My blood was boiling. She could tell and she smirked knowing that she had gotten under my skin.

"Fine. But I'm not going to be a kiss ass. Not going to treat you like a goddess, you got it?" Her eyes turned harsh. Now it was my turn to smirk. I could tell she liked being in charge and that she hated those who questioned her authority.

"I'm Percy Jackson by the way. I didn't get your name." I extended my hand to give her a handshake.

She gave me a look of disgust and grudgingly said "My name is Reyna." She shook my hand and she quickly withdrew her hand after shaking my hand. I could already tell she didn't like me. If she could've been any colder I think it would've happened by now.

"So how do I help out?" I looked at her. She was analyzing me from head to toe. I kind of felt uncomfortable. She was basically sizing me up.

"Hmm we really don't need your help serving the food. But maybe taking out the trash and carrying the boxes when the food comes in." She motioned for me to follow her. While we got further into the building I realized how nice it looked. You would expect soup kitchens to be small and kind of run down, but on the contrary this soup kitchen was very nice. It could even be better than some of the high priced restaurants out there.

I followed her through the crowd and realized that there were more Yancy students lingering and helping out with whatever they could. This changed me, maybe not all Yancy students were entitled spoiled brats. As we progressed through the building I realized that there were separate hallways. One led to the kitchen, there was a workers area, where helpers came out with the food, and janitor's closet which contained all the cleaning materials.

I realized I was going have to do all the manual work. Which meant cleaning and doing some lifting. This girl really didn't like me, she was trying to the find the worst job to give to me. We got to the back of the building and opened the backdoor where a huge truck was backed up in the parking space filled with a shit ton of boxes. They looked large and no doubt were pretty fucking heavy.

"Like I said this is your job. Start unloading, then bring the boxes to the kitchen. So the volunteers can unbox and store the food. Also when they're done with the boxes, your job is to also break them down and throw them in the recycling bin. Now hurry your ass up." Sheesh she was really bossy. She stomped away probably irritated that she had to deal with me. She no doubt felt like I was a waste of space. Oh well her loss.

In all the hurry to start working I forgot to leave my stuff inside the building. I groaned knowing that I would have to deal with Reyna's wrath for not getting to work right away. Whatever I can handle it. I got back inside and threw my bag and varsity jacket into the janitor's closet, hoping he wouldn't throw away my stuff. Reyna caught me when I was about to go out and threatened to beat me with the janitors broom if I didn't get my ass to work. She was really pushy.

I was still sweaty from the afternoon football practice so that meant I was probably going to stink even more than I did now. Oh well. I got back outside and realized none of the boxes had moved, which meant I had to do all this by myself. I'm pretty sure they had a trolley to put all the boxes on, but Reyna decided not to tell me about it. I think she purposely did it so she can inflict as much exhaustion and suffering onto me.

Either way I decided not to overthink it. I quickly got to work and mounted the boxed truck. In total there were about twenty boxes. When I picked one up, I realized it was around forty pounds. Now it's not to say it was really heavy but carrying it up steps into the kitchen was going to be a hassle. I guess football conditioning and workouts prepared me for this. I quickly dismounted the boxed truck with the decently heavy box in hand. I was already sweating and I hadn't even carried the box a long amount of time. This was the endless process for the first thirty minutes.

But the work was definitely exhausting which also made me extremely sweaty. I decided to take my Goode long sleeve shirt off so it wouldn't bother me. The sweat that had built on the shirt so much if felt like someone had submerged the shirt in water, that's how wet it was. It was constantly sticking to my skin which bothered me and made me feel very itchy. So I took it off and went shirtless. The breeze felt so good on my skin. I continued working and realized that working shirtless actually worked better, I transported the boxes faster.

The sun started to set which meant night wasn't too far off. I had to work faster to make it home, if I was late, my mom would worry. People started to leave as the soup kitchen was closing for the evening. I noticed some of the workers, specifically females start to crowd the hallway and watch me carry the boxes into the kitchen. I heard giggling which I didn't know what that was about. Like people I need some help, come help me please. Of course they didn't they settled with watching me doing all the work, morons.

They kept at it for a few minutes till they decided they had watched me struggle enough and decided to go home. Which I guess made me one of the last ones to leave. I wonder who was going to close the building. My question wasn't going to be answered immediately because I still had two boxes left to carry to the kitchen.

Finally I finished carrying all the boxes into the kitchen. My muscles in my arms were very sore and they stung a little bit. I went to grab my stuff from the janitor's closet hoping it wasn't thrown away. On the way there I ran into someone, literally. I knocked the person down and she wasn't too happy.

"Watch where you're going you idiot." When I looked down at who I dropped. I realized it was Reyna.

She was rubbing her back because she hit it pretty hard as she fell to the ground. Then she looked up at me, but not before tracing her eyes at my whole body from head to toe. She kind of stayed at my upper body but her eyes didn't look at my face. I realized her face had a slight reddish tint to it. Wonder why.

"Uh sorry, I was just coming this way to get my stuff." She still had her eyes, specifically at my stomach. I offered her hand and she took it. I helped her up and she finally broke the gaze and looked at me angry.

"Why are you shirtless you pervert." She started hitting and pushing me. Her punches and slaps actually hurt, she left red marks as proof.

"Hey, Hey stop. It hurts. I'm sorry I'm shirtless it just got really hot and I was sweating a lot so I took it off. I'm going to get my shirt, geez." I was about to walk by her to get to the janitors closet and hopefully find my stuff. But she grabbed my arm.

"Wait are you looking for some things that were in the janitor's closet? If you are well I moved them into the upstairs office. Follow me." She was leading up the stairs which kind of felt very awkward it just felt like something odd was going to happen.

I followed her up the steps. There were other rooms on the second floor but they were all closed. As if noticing what I was looking at Reyna decided to respond. "The extra rooms are for the soup kitchen offices, you know where they set the budget and decide how to get funding." I just nodded, to be completely honest I was bored.

We finally arrived to the office that had my stuff in it. It was at the end of the hall. Reyna pulled out some keys and fit it into the offices lock. "So I'm guessing you're the one that closes the soup kitchens during the night." She just nodded as if that was enough to answer my question.

She unlocked the door but when she pushed it, the door wouldn't budge. The way she got frustrated made her look adorable. "Here let me try." She shoved me away. "I can do it. Get out of the way Jackson" I raised my hands in surrender, no need for more battle scars.

She finally gave up when the door wouldn't open. "Fine give it a try." I passed her and rammed my shoulder into the door. Pain shot up my shoulder when I noticed the door still wouldn't open.

"Ugh you broke the door Reyna." Reyna looked at me shocked.

"I didn't break anything Jackson, now shut up and open it you dimwit." Wow name-calling, she so hates me.

I kept trying many times but the door wouldn't budge. Finally I slumped and sat in front of the door and Reyna did the same.

"Dammit, how am I supposed to get my stuff now? If I arrive to my house with no shirt, my mom will jump to the wrong conclusions." Reyna face turned entirely red. What was her deal?

"Come on, let's try one more time. Give me the keys maybe you didn't unlock the door." Reyna grudgingly handed the keys over. She muttered something about I was an idiot.

I inserted the key into the door and heard a click when I turned the key in the lock. I hoped it meant that door was no longer locked anymore. In case it wasn't unlocked I decided to ram it one last time and hoped it would break so I could get my shit. I noticed that Reyna was so close behind me that I could feel her breath on my exposed back. I got some goosebumps but quickly shoved those thoughts away.

I turned the doorknob and rammed the door. The door opened easily which meant I unnecessarily just shoved all my strength into the door to only just fall on my ass. I fell face first with Reyna falling on top of me. I heard her groan. She then just started gripping my shoulders and just massaging my arms. What the hell what she doing?

"As much as that feels good, can you please get off of me Reyna?" Realizing what she was doing Reyna quickly got off. Her face once again was red.

"You didn't unlock the top lock, only the bottom one. No wonder we couldn't open the door." I noticed that Reyna looked dumbfounded, she couldn't believe she had made a mistake.

I quickly got my stuff and headed down the steps. Reyna locked the office door and was right behind me. I helped her turn off everything in the building and to make sure everything was the way it was supposed to be. We were at the front door of the building and I waited for Reyna till she locked the front door and double checked that she really locked it.

I said bye and was heading down the steps to walk down the street to go back home.

"Hey do you want a ride?" Reyna called from the front door. I quickly turned around and smiled.

"Yea if it's not too much of a bother to you." She quickly shook her head.

"My car is just down the street past the park. I could use a companion for these lonely nights." I realized the park she meant. It was the one that divided the middle class and rich families. The territory I was about to trespass was the rich one. It kind of made me uneasy.

"How far is your house?" Reyna asked. She seemed kind of eager.

"Just a few blocks. Are you sure you want to give me a ride I can just walk." I said while I pointed the opposite direction.

"I'm sure Jackson. Just follow me." I followed her to her car. When she stopped in front of a BMW M6 my jaw dropped.

"This is your car?" Reyna just nodded. She seemed to think having this type of car was normal.

"Your parents spoil you way too much." Reyna immediately tensed up. She got very defensive.

"I don't want to talk about it, come on just get into the car would you. Before I change my mind." Reyna tossed her school bag into the back seat. The car still had the new car smell. I was about to get in when I heard a voice from behind me.

"Reyna you finally got yourself a boyfriend. Thank the heavens I was beginning to think you just hated men." A cocky voice said. The way he spoke to Reyna really pissed me off. Her dating life was none of the guys business.

"What do you want Lawrence? You bother me at school, isn't that enough?" This Lawrence guy just smirked at Reyna. I looked at his appearance. He was a tall boy with a mop of brown hair and green eyes. His nose was sort of sideways which made believe that his nose was broken. When he smiled his two front teeth were to different shades of yellow which was disgusting.

"Excuse me but who are you?" I asked this Lawrence character.

"I'm Bryce Lawrence a descendant of Orcus. He's the greatest judge New York has seen. He does sentencing for criminals." Great another rich spoiled brat. Next to him was another generic looking Yancy student. The boy was mid-size with blonde hair and brown eyes. He looked like he didn't want to be here confronting Reyna.

"Well I suggest you get on your merry way before some random guy mugs you." Bryce just looked at me like I wasn't worthy to look at.

"Yes, yes I'm pretty sure that's common in your area. After all you live with the poor." My blood was boiling. I was about march towards him and knock him on his ass when Reyna ran around the car to stop me.

"Please Percy don't-"Reyna had a calm face which calmed me down somehow.

"Tell him Reyna, I don't want your boyfriend to land in the hospital. I doubt he can afford the hospital bills." This kid was seriously asking for it.

"Can you just leave Lawrence? We get that your family is wealthy." Bryce wasn't having it though. He approached Reyna then placed a hand on her cheek and start caressing it. What a fucking creep.

Reyna wasn't having none of his bullshit, she immediately slapped him. The impact could probably heard from miles away. I flinched, that must've hurt pretty bad.

Bryce just had a murderous glare as he placed his hand on where he was just slapped.

"Wrong thing to do Reyna." Bryce went to talk to his friend who passed him something. The other guy also approached trying to look intimidating. I already knew where this was heading.

Bryce flipped open a butterfly knife. So that's what the guy must've passed to him. Reyna got into a fighting stance ready to fight for her life. I had an odd feeling this wasn't her first rumble.

"I'm going to show you pain Reyna." Bryce then pointed at me. "I suggest you stay out of this you juvenile delinquent." That was the last straw, before he saw it coming, I swung and hit Bryce square in the jaw. He dropped the butterfly knife and just slumped to the ground. Just what I thought, a boy that talked a lot of shit but didn't back it up.

The other guy looked afraid. Reyna threw one punch straight for the guy's eye and she connected. I was kind of in awe. This girl could fight. The boy wasn't knocked out immediately he just shielded his face from Reyna.

"Get Bryce and get out of her. Don't say anything to anyone." The guy just nodded and quickly picked up Bryce and shoved him into a black Mercedes then sped off.

I smiled at Reyna." I didn't know you could fight. You got a mean hook. I'm pretty sure you could've done much more damage than you did." Reyna shrugged as if she was used to being underestimated while also being no stranger to being praised.

"You don't know a lot about me. Now hurry up before we run into more of Octavian's rich posse." Of course these guys were led by another asshole, which was Octavian. I realized that both Luke and Octavian weren't so different. They craved power and control and loved making other people feel inferior. Not only that but if you were in their crosshairs they would make your life a living hell. I sympathized with Reyna, Goode wasn't the only one suffering from a big bully. Yancy was as well. Reyna showed that not all students at Yancy were assholes. She was actually pretty nice.

"You know you should fight back against Octavian. I know not everyone likes him, and some probably fear him and that's the only reason they follow him. Create a group like I did at Goode, kind of like a safe haven for students and outcasts that are being targeted by someone. "Reyna looked at me like I was dumb but then gave me a smile.

"You know Jackson you aren't dumb as you look. Now get in the car, I don't want you to be late and have your parents worry." I nodded and I got into Reyna's BMW M6 as she set off to drop me back home. I realized just maybe that I had made an ally…

 **A/N Sorry for the wait I just haven't been able to update. Anyways I present you the eleventh Chapter at Trouble at Goode. I'll try to update next week but no promises. Work this week is going to be extremely busy. I will probably only update my other stories since they're shorter. Once again please review I wanna know how you felt about this chapter. I felt like it was boring. Also I know I'm not a really good write so that's why I ask you guys who do read my story to tell me what you liked.**

 **P.S No I didn't create Bryce Lawrence. Bryce Lawrence is a real character from the Heroes of Olympus.**

 **Much love**

 **-MJ**


	12. Chapter 12

**Trouble at Goode**

 **Character used within the plot belong to Rick Riordan.**

 **IN FACT NOTHING BELONGS TO ME haha.**

 **Chapter 12**

 **Percy POV**

What a dramatic night. I went to do my community service hours at the soup kitchen and somehow I ended up being in a fight. I guess trouble just loved finding me. I was confused however, on how I felt about Reyna. Sure she was pretty, nice, and badass. Did I mention badass? I digress I just have a feeling that Reyna is someone I can count on. The whole car ride which in all was only approximately ten minutes I just started at her. No, not like a creep.

"What are you looking at Jackson?" She caught me, just staring at her. She probably thinks I'm a creep now.

"Uh nothing I just zoned out." Reyna just kept her eyes on the road satisfied with my answer.

Since my apartment complex was only a few blocks away we arrived pretty quickly. I kind of felt self-conscious about where I lived, since Reyna was probably used to the wealthy life. She didn't seem bothered with where I lived at, now it's not to say I lived in a poor area. I lived in a safe neighborhood but Reyna was probably used to seeing mansions, condos, and things like that.

"This is it. Thanks for the ride Reyna." I got my bag from the backseat and was about close the door. I noticed that Reyna was looking at me expectantly. I had no idea what that was about. But I felt kind of guilty since she just gave me a ride.

"Do you want to come up and eat dinner with my mother and me?" Reyna looked stunned that I asked her. Although it wasn't visible to Percy, Reyna was blushing a lot.

"You think that's okay?" Reyna looked indecisive. As if in her mind she was having an argument on whether she should accept or not.

"Yeah of course. My mother is a bit much but she's chill. Plus I kind have to pay you back for giving me a ride. So come one." I just stood there leaning into the passenger door waiting for her to decide if she would or not. If she didn't decide in the next minute I was just going to turn around and head up.

"Alright fine. It's the least you can do. Let me find a parking spot." I gave her an awkward smile and nodded. She had to go around the block again to find an open spot. It wasn't a far walk so she found a good space.

Reyna and I greeted the front desk agent whose name was Larry. I introduced him to Reyna and then we headed to the elevator to go to my floor. Before the elevator could close I saw Larry give me a wink. For some reason I blushed a little, did he think me and Reyna were a thing. In my mind I thought that it's too early for that. I was also kind of confused on how I felt about her.

"You know you're supposed to get to know a person before you take them up to your apartment. Not to mention you have to take them on their first date, then keep going on dates till you feel comfortable with each other. Finally that's when you introduce your parents to your significant other. You're a fast one aren't you Jackson?" Reyna looked at me, I noticed like before her cheeks were kind of pink.

"That's pretty bold of you. But this isn't really a date to be honest. Unless you call it a date when a parent is involved?" Reyna shrugged her shoulders but deep down I could feel she was kind of disappointed with my response.

The elevator was of course playing the shittiest music ever. Sometimes that's why I didn't bother taking the elevator, so I took the stairs. It's a workout getting up all those steps and my ears don't suffer from the shitty music. I think I need to talk to Larry about the music sooner or later.

Finally the elevator dinged and the doors opened. I walked down the hall to my apartment door. Reyna close on my heels, she was looking around as if to make sure she knew the way out when she left. Either way I was going to walk her down to her car. Don't want any of those creeps once again harassing her. Plus my mother always told me that I should walk ladies to their car, something about being a gentleman. I guess chivalry is dead, I have to bring it back.

I fumbled for my keys in my Nike sweatpants until I finally found them. For some reason I was getting really nervous about opening the door.

"Here let me have them." Reyna snatched the keys from me and quickly opened the door. She signaled for me to get in first since it was after all where I lived.

"Mother I'm home." I had a feeling my mom was not going to be happy about me being late for dinner.

Right on cue, "PERSEUS JACKSON why are you so late?! You had me worried. Plus I'm pretty sure I told you, that you were grounded. You are supposed to come back after football practice" My mom was yelling from the kitchen. From beside me Reyna was trying not to burst out into laughter. I gave her a frown, but I guess that gave her more of the urge to laugh.

Finally my mom came out of the kitchen with some food. "Percy-." She finally noticed that I was with someone. My mom's eyes lit up like the sun rising at sunrise.

My mother slapped me upside the head as I stood there oblivious as ever." Percy! Introduce me to this young lady."

"OW." My mom sure hits hard. "Anyways this is Reyna, Reyna this is my mother." I massaged the back of my head where my mom had just hit me. I knew that my mother didn't intend to hit me hard but it did hurt.

"Please call me Sally. When people call me Ms. Jackson I feel old." My mom gave Reyna a hug which surprised her to say the least. But eventually she gave in and returned the hug back to my mom. I had a feeling Reyna wasn't used to family love and that's why she always bottled up her feelings.

"Reyna I just set up dinner. Come follow me, you'll be eating with us tonight." Reyna immediately followed my mom. For once I saw she had a genuine smile on her face.

While my mom was showing Reyna into the living room and around the apartment I decided to head to my room to change. I quickly flung my shirt and sweatpants off and put them into the dirty bin. I looked through my wardrobe for some simple clothing. I decided to get some gym shorts and a short sleeve t shirt. I was planning to go running tonight, right after Reyna left.

I quickly ran from my room and into the dining room where my mom and Reyna were discussing gods know whatever.

"Percy you smell. Go take a shower." My jaw dropped. I just put on some fresh clothes on just to be told to go take a shower.

"But mom I put on fresh clothes. I'll shower after I run." My mom just shook her head and pointed down the hallway where the bathroom and shower was. Right beside my mom Reyna was having fun seeing me get bossed around by my mom.

"Fine" I quickly headed down the hall and opened the small closet to get a new towel. Wouldn't want my mom to say that the towel stinks and that I need to wash it before dinner.

I flung off my fresh clothes and got into the shower. I took a quick shower with cold water but felt immediately refreshed with energy coursing through me. Maybe my mom was right and I did need a quick shower. It took probably ten minutes in the shower and I put on the same fresh clothes on and finally headed to the dining room.

"Ready. I'm ready to eat. I'm really hungry." Finally the food was put out onto the table and we ate.

My mom was asking Reyna a lot of questions. I could tell Reyna wasn't really giving full answers and settled for short answers or she danced around the question to not answer fully. But the burning question finally came.

"So you guys are dating?" the food I had in my mouth got stuck in my throat as I coughed and struggled to swallow the food. Reyna was doing the same except she was smart enough to drink water. I finally swallowed the food. Reyna wasn't responding as she looked at me asking for help. So I decided to respond.

"No mom. I just met her today while I was doing my community service hours." My mom shoulders dropped. It's as if she wanted to be true.

"Oh, well I was hoping you would date someone before high school ends. I thought you were dating her. I want grandchildren you know." At the last part I couldn't help but feel my face turning red hot. Not out of anger but of embarrassment. Reyna across the table wasn't red for the first time rather, she was laughing, laughing at me.

"What if I don't want kids?" I asked my mom. It wasn't really a question, I did want kids but I knew my mom would be horrified if I didn't bless her with grandchildren.

"Then I would be really sad. I hope you aren't serious." My mom had a face of sadness. I felt guilty that I kind of fooled her.

The rest of dinner went by quietly with the occasional question my mom had for Reyna. I for one decided to blend into the silence and not pay attention to their conversation. I focused on eating my food. When I finished my food, I just sat there rather bored. I patiently waited for Reyna to eat her food but she was taking her sweet time. Soon my mom was finished with her food and it was only Reyna and I left in the dining room.

"You have a nice home and a nice mother, Jackson. You're lucky." Reyna had a sad look. In her eyes I could see all those bottled up feelings she must have been holding. I didn't want to pry considering I've only met her just today. But for some reason I felt drawn to her. That inner sadness mirrored my own, years of resentment towards my father or when things didn't go right.

"Thanks." That was all that seemed to appear out of my mouth. Just gratitude, I loved my mother so much for all the things she does for me. It just took someone who didn't have those things for me to realize.

"Alright I'm ready to go." She got up rather quickly, I had the sense she was going to run into her car and cry. So I grabbed her arm when she tried to pass me. She looked at me, and I motioned for her to walk with me. I got my apartment keys and walked her all the way down to her car.

"Thanks for dinner Percy. No one has done such a nice thing in so long. Heck most of the people I know are scared of me. Not that I can blame them." Tears were brimming her eyes. It took all the power she could muster to not break down in front of Percy.

"Hey don't cry." Before I could say anything else she flung her arms in my direction and embraced me. At first I was shocked but I slowly hugged her back. I began to pat her back and tell her comforting things to soothe her.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that." She quickly got off me and opened the car door and turned her car on.

"Tell you what. Why don't you come to my football game? That way we can get to know each other better. Plus you'll see me in action." Reyna smiled and nodded.

"I would love that." And that was that. That's all it took for Percy to gain Reyna's trust. They exchanged numbers and soon after Reyna was driving off into the distance.

After Reyna left I went for mile run that I usually did around my neighborhood. The neighborhood was coated in darkness from the night. Street poles were the only source of light which didn't totally engulf Percy as he ran. I ran around the block for a few minutes before I decided to break off from my usual route and take a newer one. I went to a neighboring neighborhood which was the upper middle class which was a little higher than my own. Some of my friends lived in this area but one individual stood before them all, Luke.

Luke's house was only a mere minutes away from my own. How I didn't encounter him on my runs or when I walked to school no one knows. But for one, what I do know is that he's out in the night right now, doing no good. I decided to not linger to long and decided to take a shortcut through a long alleyway. But I always run into trouble. I could hear a conversation from a group up ahead. They looked sketchy and up to no good.

"We have to eradicate Jackson and his little group. They think they can stand up to us. The only reason we've kept our distance isn't because we are afraid of them. Rather we're just measuring how far they're willing to go. But according to our hated ally Octavian, there seems to be a growing revolt against his control of Yancy." I recognized that voice. It was none other than Ethan Nakamura." I realized I had ran into a group meeting of the Backbiters. They were planning something huge and it scared me.

"Shut it Ethan. Octavian is going to have to hold it on his own. If he can't we'll simply replace him with someone more capable. For now Octavian is in charge of Yancy, he has connections with people of power. Plus most of our drug income is from Yancy and his rich clients. So till now we have to wait and see." What did I just run into? Some illegal drug meeting and perhaps my death sentence. I had to get out of here fast before they suspected I was eavesdropping. But of course since I'm kind of clumsy I knocked a metal trashcan over which clattered to the ground.

Now I didn't stay to see if they saw or even heard me. I began sprinting back the way I came from. Shortly right after, I heard distant footsteps hitting the concrete with force. They were after me. I was fast since I played football but some of the Backbiters were athletes, some ran track and cross country. I silently cursed myself for being so stupid and not leaving when I saw them. They were catching up to me, the track athletes were obviously faster than me, while the cross country had insane amounts of stamina, I wish I had.

I had no choice I had to hide. I wasn't out of the alleyway yet and if I got out of the alleyway alive, I would be out in the open where they could catch up to me and do whatever they wanted. I cursed myself and jumped into a huge metal dumpster. The smell inside was unbearable. It smelled of rotten foods, I had to take a shower if I made it out alive as soon as I got home.

A few seconds later and I heard some out of breath Backbiters. "Where did the eavesdropper go?" I could hear their footsteps lingering around the area where I was hiding.

I silently prayed to whatever being could hear my prayer that they wouldn't look in the dumpster. "Who cares? It probably was some homeless man who was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Shortly after I heard their receding footsteps head to where they had just held their meeting.

Minutes past until I got out of the dumpster to make sure the coast was clear. Miraculously it was and I began to sprint back home in case they came back to investigate. The whole jog to my apartment complex I kept rethinking of what I heard. What did Luke exactly mean? To eradicate me and my group? This was deeper than I was expecting it to be. Luke was in deep, all along I thought he was just some harmless guy that hid behind his group. But now I saw Luke in a new light, he could be someone potentially dangerous, someone that actually had the guts to kill me.

I didn't realize I was at my apartment street until I was opening the front door of the apartment complex.

"Eww Percy you smell like a dumpster." Larry the doorman said to me as he covered his nose with his hand.

"Yeah sorry Larry, I kind of got into a dilemma and had to actually jump in a dumpster. Sorry about stinking up the front lobby." I quickly ran up the side stairs to my apartment door and quickly opened it. Of course my mother was waiting right as I opened the door.

"Percy what of you are grounded don't you understand? I was waiting for you to come up the whole hour when you walked Reyna down." Slowly but surely my mom started to become aware of the stinky scent. Her nose started to scrunch up as she covered her nose.

"What the heck Percy, why do you stink so much?" Ugh explaining to my mom would be so difficult. I couldn't involve her in my problems.

"Long story mom, I'll tell you some other time." I tried to get past her but she blocked my escape route.

"Not so fast Perseus. You will tell me tomorrow what happened, but I have to tell you something." I furrowed by brows as I frowned. What was so important that couldn't wait till tomorrow?

"I called your dad this afternoon after you passed the driving test. He was very proud of you Percy. He called one of his employees at the New York office." I kept frowning. Why did my dad care if I passed or not. If he cared about me so much why did he leave?

"Don't think of your father that way Percy. He cares about you a lot. But his job is very important that he had to leave us. A lot of people depend on him." I just kept frowning of how much he supposedly "cared" about me.

"Anyways as I was saying, I called him and he asked which type of car you would like. You never actually told me what car you would like. So I just looked in your room to garner an idea of what car you had an interest in. I saw that in one of your posters on your wall there was a Black Ford Mustang. I read the inscription on the bottom right and it said it was a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350. I told him that was something you would like. Your dad said it wasn't going to be easy finding a classic these days but he said he would get you one." My frown was gone from my face as I heard my mom.

The 1967 Ford Mustang was my dream car. Something I couldn't possibly afford. They were so rare because after all, it was a classic and few people around these parts have it. Not to mention that nowadays people tend to go for the technologically advanced cars, which didn't grab my attention.

"So he called the employee in his New York Office to get you the car. He found it and bought it on the order to give it to you. It's waiting for you outside. The employee is good at what he does Percy. Because he found the car you were looking for within the hour and had it before you came back home. So your father got you a new car the same day as you passed your driving test. How do you feel Percy?" My father actually bought me an expensive classic car. There had to be an ulterior motive to this. No one gave anything for free without a price in the end.

I didn't answer my mom. She pointed to the keys that were by the countertop of the kitchen. I walked right past the kitchen and into my room. I got into my bed and began to think. Why would my dad do something nice to me when all I have for him his resentment. He can't repay me with kindness when I respond to him with coldness. Every time I talk over the phone with him, I always try as hard as possible to argue or insult him. He brushes it off every single time, so I just hang up on him.

I heard knocking on the door. "Percy are you alright?" The knocking persisted when I didn't answer.

"Yes mom, I just have to clear my head and think." I heard a sigh from the other side of the door as she left presumably to her bedroom.

I didn't realize how tired I was until I started to drift into a deep sleep. I was trying hard to keep my eyes open. I kept reminding myself I had homework to do, but also I have to take another shower to take away this nasty stench. No matter how hard I tried my eyes closed, I succumbed to my fatigue which was attributed from the heavy running I had just done.

 **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

When I awoke, I was still tired. It was all the extra work of the soup kitchen, the soreness from running and yesterday's football practice. I realized that I had woken up very late and still smelled liked the dumpster I had crawled into yesterday. I quickly got into the shower and doubled shampooed and made sure to wash my body as many times as I could. I got out of the shower and I smelled neutral, I didn't smell good nor bad which was good enough for me.

I got my cologne off my dresser and sprayed some on me and my clothes. The scent smelled like the ocean and the sea. It was the only type of cologne I wore and I always bought the same brand every time I ran out. My mother like the many times I woke up late, was already at work at the candy shop. I put on a simple white t shirt with some jeans and some converse. I grabbed my varsity jacket and headed to the door of my apartment.

I stopped at the kitchen counter where I saw the keys to the car my mom told me my father had bought me. I always told myself that I would never forgive my dad for what he did to me and my mother. But to go out of his way to buy me a car showed he cared somewhat right? I grabbed the metal key that had a horse engraved on the key itself. With the key was a keychain of a mythological creature which was a Pegasus. Now that was odd.

Instead of just staring at the key like an idiot I decided to run out of the apartment at rapid pace. I looked around my street for the car that was supposedly mine. I saw the usual cars that belonged to the neighbors or whoever lived in the community. Until I saw it. It was slightly bigger than the regular sedans that were on the block. It was all black except the white double vertical stripe that was on the hood of the car. When I inserted the key and it opened I had a huge smile on my face. It was actually mine. I threw my duffle bag and my school bag into the passenger seat while I got into the car. The seats were made of thin black leather. The inside of the car had an ancient look to it, the steering wheel was nothing like the cars today.

When I turned on the car, the engine roared to life. The sound was a roar of power, I was pretty sure everyone around the block could hear it. Not dwelling on the car in itself, I realized I was going to be late for classes. So I shifted the gear of the manual mustang and sped my way to school. I was definitely above the speed limit, in fact I was super speeding. Surprisingly, I wasn't pulled over by the police. If they did I was actually thinking of speeding away. The roar of the engine gave me adrenaline. It felt like I was in a street race with everyone around me.

I pulled up to the school and realized that all the students were already inside the school. With only the few troublemakers like myself still outside. I noticed that Luke and his pack were hogging the front of the school blocking the front entrances. Just great more issues. Then I remembered what happened yesterday of the secret meeting they were holding, I had to be extra cautious. I had a feeling that I was definitely going to be dealt with first.

I turned off the engine of the car and went to grab my duffle bag and school bag. I quickly locked the door. I ran up the front doors only to be interrupted by you guessed it Luke. Surprisingly his crew wasn't with them, they must have went inside.

"Hey Jackson." I was speeding up my way up the steps until I was face to face with him.

"Nice car, how'd you get it?" Luke looked genuinely interested of where I got the car.

"My dad bought it for me. Anymore questions? I'm late to class so if you'll excuse me I have to go." I was almost inside before he grabbed the loop of my bag and held me in place.

"Look Jackson as much as I hate saying this. I think we need to call a truce. That way we stay out of each other's way. Not only that, but I can continue with what I usually do without your little group of pests." I eyed him warily. I already knew he was lying. He wanted for us to let our guard down so he could stab us right in the back. But I had to play along with his little game. I already knew I was the main target. I had to act oblivious.

"Shake on it?" I extended my hand to meet him halfway. I noticed Luke's smirk. He looked at my hand and then looked straight at me in the eye. Blue on green. I noticed that his eyes had an evil glint to them. When he finally shook my hand I realized his hand was ice cold. A warning that he was ice cold when it came to others.

"See you around Jackson." Luke pushed through me as he went into the bathroom, to of course skip classes. I stood there for a while before I realized the bell to signify that class had begun had just rung. I ran for it. Mr. Brunner was going to be angry at me. I just hope I don't have a quiz in his class…

 **A/N Sorry for being late on this update I had severe writers block. But here's the twelfth chapter. Sadly these spaced out updates will continue. School is starting soon for me and I've been really focused on getting back into that mentality. I might update my shorter chaptered stores during that time span, but only those. With the occasional update of this story. But I will try as hard as possible to update this story, hopefully, once again every week. It will depend on my work load. But please review to keep me entertained of what you liked :) .**

 **Also sorry for the filler chapter. I'm going to make the next chapter hopefully more dramatic and more action packed. Also I decided maybe Percy needed some more love interests in his life. Perhaps a love rectangle instead of a love triangle. Don't worry the ending pairing will always be Percabeth.**


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